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Vaccine admin payment rates remain down after cuts; COVID aims higher

03/29/2021

Payment cuts to a series of immunization administration codes have significantly curtailed provider payments in recent years, as Medicare slashed rates for the G0008-G0010 series related to influenza, pneumococcal and hepatitis B vaccines.

Beyond physician burnout: Address staff fatigue as well to maintain practice health

03/22/2021

by: Roy Edroso

While physician burnout grabs headlines, practice experts believe you should also reach out to non-physician employees, from nurse practitioners to receptionists, who also may be suffering from critical stress in order to keep the whole practice humming happily and productively.

As audits loom, stick to the rules of advance care planning codes to avoid harm

03/22/2021

by: Julia Kyles, CPC

Medicare auditors have identified failure to document time as a key flaw in claims for advance care planning (ACP), and the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) plans to conduct an audit of the services.

E/M ‘errata and technical corrections’ reshape the office visit guidelines

03/22/2021

by: Julia Kyles, CPC

Your 2021 CPT manual doesn’t have the final word on how to document and code E/M visits, after the AMA released an update to the guidelines March 9.

COVID vaccinators get a big pay increase from Medicare for shot admin

03/22/2021

by: Laura Evans, CPC

Effective March 15, providers will get a payment boost from Medicare for administering COVID-19 vaccines.

Not much market for cryptocurrency payments in medical practices – for now, experts say

03/22/2021

by: Roy Edroso

Question: I’ve been seeing a lot in the media about cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin. They seem to be getting more popular. Should I offer to accept cryptocurrency for payments?

HHS extends public comment period for HIPAA Privacy Rule modifications

03/22/2021

by: Matt Duffy

The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced on March 9 a 45-day extension for the public comment period for the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to modify the HIPAA Privacy Rule.

ACP numbers surge, yet add-on code remains problematic for many

03/22/2021

by: Roy Edroso

Practices accelerated their use of advance care planning codes 99497 and 99498 in 2019, as more providers held – and billed for – important late-life planning sessions with patients.

As new rule looms, get ready to meet patient PHI email requests and avoid breaches

03/15/2021

by: Roy Edroso

Despite other HIPAA flexibilities implemented for the COVID-19 crisis, you’re still required to protect patient data when you email it to patients and their assigns — and your responsibility will be more closely monitored when a new Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) rule goes into effect in April. Make sure you understand what protections you must observe.

It’s official: You can expect more E/M changes to arrive in 2023

03/15/2021

by: Julia Kyles

You have two years to prepare for the next wave of E/M changes. Dozens of changes will go into effect Jan. 1, 2023, according to the CPT Editorial Summary of Panel Actions February 2021, released March 5.

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