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Investigators and prosecutors continue to use their coding knowledge to wring big settlements from practices. These tactics have left four physician practices poorer by an average of $218,465, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Maryland announced on March 16.

Recently, Part B News reported on some new ways to improve patient collections in the physician practice setting. We also discussed the subject with Joe Clark, CEO of Sierra Pacific Orthopedics in Fresno, Calif., from which the following is excerpted. He told us, among other things, why Sierra Pacific Orthopedics doesn't take advance payments, how he runs his credit card on file, how he reduced 90-day A/R by more than 60% and the secret to effective staff-patient payment communications. 

Want to test your coding skills? Try your head hand at selecting the correct diagnosis and procedure codes for these three headache treatments and put your answers in the comments.
Question: How does the Supplemental Medical Review Contractor (SMRC) determine which reviews to perform? Does SMRC work for CMS or our Medicare administrative contractor (MAC)?

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