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Opt-out also an option to order or refer services for Medicare patients

02/02/2015

CMS will allow eligible providers to opt out of Medicare but still order and refer services, according to a Jan. 14 announcement from the federal Medicare agency.

Denial rates on top allergy skin test codes, 2013 vs. 2012

02/02/2015

by: Roy Edroso

Allergy test code billing is full of pitfalls, and the latest CCI update makes them even trickier (see story).

Avoid 2016 PQRS, value-modifier penalties by meeting approaching deadlines

01/26/2015

by: Richard Scott

You have time to submit your physician quality reporting system (PQRS) data for 2014 and avoid a 2% pay cut in 2016, but you’ll have to hurry — reporting deadlines arrive as early as Feb. 28.

As hospitals squeeze M.D.s, lure them to your practice with perks, performance goals

01/26/2015

by: Roy Edroso

Experts confirm that while hospitals retain their financial advantage in recruiting physicians, shifts in compensation models and other factors may be alienating them, which gives you a chance to lure some good doctors to your practice by providing a better experience.

Assess patient population to see whether shared visits work for your practice

01/26/2015

by: Roy Edroso

Shared medical visits require extra personnel and effort, but if you have the right sort of patient population, you can improve patient outcomes and clock a lot of E/Ms in a short space of time.

Benchmark: Group codes with group visits show high denial rates in recent data

01/26/2015

by: Roy Edroso

Out of 13 group-procedure codes listed by Medicare, six of them were never paid by Medicare.

Recruiting tool: Questions to consider for new physicians

01/26/2015

Here's a list of questions to give physicians prospects to get them thinking about what they really want in a practice.

Part B News briefs

01/22/2015

A new interest rate on your under- and over-payments, and new guidance on pre-payment ADRs.

Use screenshots, security analysis to prepare for meaningful use audits

01/19/2015

by: Roy Edroso

Protect yourself in advance of meaningful use audits with some documentation you may not have known you’d need — including date-stamped screenshots and a full-blown security risk assessment.

Second, distinct pneumococcal vaccination now covered by, billable to CMS

01/19/2015

by: Scott Kraft

Now you can get paid for administering two distinct pneumococcal vaccinations to Medicare patients under updated vaccine guidelines released by CMS in recent transmittal 3159 to the Medicare Claims Processing Manual.

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