Review your provider's E/M documentation and watch for overuse of buzzwords such as "unremarkable" or "non-contributory," which don't clearly convey a provider's thoughts or intentions. Auditors also say that using vague phrases too often can indicate a physician is giving a canned answer, such as "see my intake history sheet in my chart, reviewed, no changes."

You'll hit a roadblock in CMS's online enrollment system when you try to reassign the benefits of an individual provider to your group. It's one more situation where you can't use the Provider Enrollment Chain Ownership System (PECOS).

Carefully consider your practice's patient demand, staffing situation and future payment rules when trying to decide between buying or leasing expensive diagnostic equipment. You'll save money and effort by doing lots of homework before taking a calculated risk, experts say.

When you're not sure if services done by an expensive diagnostic machine will stay well-paid and in demand, you're better off leasing the machine (see Buy or Lease Equipment story). But the hard choices don't stop once you decide to lease. There's plenty of things you can do to ensure a good lease that minimizes the financial risk of signing a contract lasting years, experts say.

Don't expect to see big price swings in the fourth quarter for a lot of the drugs you bill, but as always a handful of CMS payments will see double-digit changes starting Oct. 1. A Part B News analysis also shows large shifts in price during 2009 among the roughly 590 drugs found on the Average Sales Price (ASP) list for Part B drugs, which sets your practice's payments for drugs such as injectables.

Beware: Your computer may be or already has been attacked by "rogue ware," the latest and one of the most aggressive, fastest-growing cybercrimes. Rogue ware operates like this: You get an "urgent" message saying your computer has a virus and you can buy software to eradicate the virus for a price typically between $49.95 to $79.95

Consider an alternative Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) reporting option in 2010 if you are unsatisfied with claims-based reporting (see PQRI claims-based reporting story).

This week's Benchmark of the Week shows changes in payment for 10 of the most frequently billed drugs on CMS's Average Sales Price (ASP) list from 2006 to 2009. Most of these drug codes are used for common conditions such as asthma, cancer and renal disease; the three big losers, with double-digit percent drops, were all for albuterol or levalbuterol.

You may soon have the opportunity to screen Medicare patients for HIV when your physicians believe the patient might have the virus or have risked contracting it.