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Follow these tips to find qualified, affordable medical interpreters

07/31/2014

Seek out interpreters who have received at least 40 hours of training and are considered “qualified” medical interpreters for your deaf and non-English-speaking patients or risk violating your patients’ civil rights and subjecting your practice to federal penalties and civil lawsuits.

3 key features to examine before making decision to purchase, switch PMS

07/31/2014

by: Scott Kraft

Upgrading the technology at your practice, usually by adding or changing an electronic health record (EHR), is often accompanied by a change to technology you’ve had for a longer period of time – the practice management system (PMS).

Primary care denial rates for observation down for initial, up for subsequent

07/31/2014

Primary care providers saw upticks in denials of all three subsequent observation codes (99224-99226) from 2011 to 2012, according to the latest Medicare data available.

Save money, gain business with 17 low-cost, ‘face-to-face’ marketing strategies

07/28/2014

by: Roy Edroso

Experts say you can inexpensively draw new patients to your practice by going out to press the flesh at community events, at health fairs and maybe even in your own waiting room.

CMS limits use of observation codes to providers who order observation services

07/28/2014

by: Scott Kraft

Only the provider who orders outpatient services for a patient who is on observation status is allowed to bill Medicare for the initial (99218-99220) and subsequent (99224-99226) codes.

Don’t bill the patient if you missed the required pre-auth, pre-cert

07/28/2014

by: Roy Edroso

If a patient is seen in our clinic, and we don’t know that a pre-authorization or pre-certification is required because he didn’t give us his correct insurance information, would the balance be the patient’s responsibility if the claim is denied?

For screenings at skilled nursing facilities, bill the SNF or sublease

07/28/2014

by: Roy Edroso

A physician has been offered the use of a treatment room in the nursing home for “skin cancer evaluation and treatment.” The physician wants to know how he should bill Medicare for those sessions, including the place of service (POS).

How to handle patients who record encounters with your physicians

07/28/2014

by: Marla Durben Hirsch

It’s become increasingly easy and popular for patients to use their cell phones to record their office visits, post-procedure instructions and other physician encounters. But the new custom can raise compliance issues in surprising ways — especially if the physician doesn’t know that he is being recorded.

Cash in on your private payers’ pay-for-performance financial incentives

07/28/2014

by: Ben Hartman

Take advantage of the financial rewards your private payers offer for providing high-quality care by following national quality guidelines. Start with simple steps instead of trying to match your program to each payer’s requirements.

Global-period change could hit dermatology, ophthalmology, orthopedics most

07/28/2014

The most commonly billed codes with 10- and 90-day global periods are billed most often by certain specialties that could take the brunt of a recently proposed change.

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