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Has telehealth’s boom peaked? Lawmakers eye fixes, as providers wrestle with the unknown

06/29/2020

As many regions are reopening and returning to sense of normalcy, providers are forced to reckon with a regulatory issue that could have a significant impact on day-to-day operations: The telehealth freedoms empowered by emergency waivers may go away, or they could be curtailed, without legislative action.

Prepare for 9 ways time-based E/M rules will change the way you code

06/29/2020

by: Julia Kyles, CPC

Use a chart to show staff how the new rules for time-based office visits will affect a variety of E/M guidelines next year. Doing so now will smooth your transition to the new rules and help your practice decide if time-based coding is a good fit before the changes go into effect Jan. 1, 2021.

Patients who get a COVID-19 test, and nothing more, stay ‘new’ for next visit

06/29/2020

by: Roy Edroso

Question: We’ve been running a clinic for COVID-19 tests where patients fill out forms and get tested. Some patients come back to the office for their results and sometimes, especially if the results are positive, they see the doctor. Are they a “new” patient at that point? Or are they established?

Privacy watch: Know the rules before you share children’s medical records

06/29/2020

by: Marla Durben Hirsch

Review how you handle requests from parents who want to access their children’s medical records. The rules regarding these requests are more complicated than a direct request by a patient.

10 strategies for handling requests to access a child’s records

06/29/2020

by: Marla Durben Hirsch

Physician practices can expect fines and enforcement if they’re slow to respond to their patients’ requests for records. But compliance is particularly confusing when a parent wants access to a child’s medical records. For instance, under HIPAA a parent may not access a minor’s records under certain circumstances, but HIPAA may be overridden by other applicable laws.

As use slows, revenue also falls for home visit service codes 99341-99350

06/29/2020

by: Richard Scott

While Medicare has made it easier to provide home visits, recent claims data reveal a decreasing preference to tap into the series of nine home visit services (99341-99350).

CMS clears COVID no-copay testing for nursing homes.

06/29/2020

by: Part B News Staff

Starting on July 6, Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans will cover COVID-19 tests for nursing home patients and residents who are symptomatic as well as those who are asymptomatic but "have been exposed to COVID [as] in an outbreak,"

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