You were first told by CMS that only providers themselves may register and attest for bonus payments under the Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program, using CMS’s new online website. This meant that third parties such as practice managers and office staff could not register as a “proxy” on behalf of providers, which would be a hassle for larger practices and groups (PBN 1/24/11).

You are less than 12 months away from a mandatory change to the 5010 HIPAA electronic transaction standard, and CMS’s plan to test 5010 transactions beginning April 1 is a chance for you to avoid any payment mishaps in 2012, experts say. Expect your vendors to be far enough along to be able to provide answers to your specific questions.

While denial rates are a good way to look at codes that you need to improve your use of, some denials hurt a lot more than others. This chart shows ten high-utilization Medicare services that cost you a lot of money every time they are denied. 

2011 fee schedule impact by specialty

How does 99397 work with the pap and pelvic code G0101 and Q0091? I thought that the two pap codes would cover a well women exam with diagnosis code V72.31 and not need 99397. These are Medicare patients. Do I also need an advance beneficiary notice [ABN] signed for this and the Pap smear codes? Can I use the same diagnosis or does it have to pertain to something else?

Your non-physician practitioners (NPPs) will be impacted right along with your physicians starting April 1, 2011, when CMS begins to enforce its clinical signature requirement rule.