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Physician exodus? Get creative to up retention, build loyalty

01/31/2022

Heading into the third year of the COVID pandemic, demoralization in the health care workforce persists — and surveys suggest physicians are as affected by it as other staff, and many are also eyeing the exits. Consider tailoring your approach to provider retention, including contracting changes, if you wish to keep them for the long term.

Private payer guidelines for modifier FT extend beyond critical care

01/31/2022

by: Julia Kyles, CPC

You will need to chart your way to compliance with private payer requirements for modifier FT, the HCPCS modifier that went live Jan. 1 and is intended to mark unrelated E/M encounters on the same date of service or during the postoperative period.

Train staff on CMS, AMA split/shared policies

01/31/2022

by: Julia Kyles, CPC

The basic concept for a split/shared E/M visit is the same whether the encounter takes place in the office or in a hospital: A physician and a qualified health care professional (QHP) who are from the same group and who can independently bill E/M visits both contribute to the patient’s care on the date of service (DOS) for the encounter.

Brush up on clinical trials guidance as Aduhelm spurs questions

01/31/2022

by: Roy Edroso

CMS appears set to require participation in a clinical trial for coverage of an expensive new Alzheimer’s drug, which promises to raise patient interest in such trials. Be prepared to field patient inquiries and take the opportunity to prepare for other clinical trial inquiries in your field.

ICD-10-CM adds Z codes for partially, unvaccinated patients

01/31/2022

by: Part B News Staff

Starting April 1, you’ll have new ICD-10-CM Z codes to report if you find the patient you are treating is partially vaccinated or unvaccinated for COVID-19.

Time-based coding can’t be based on best guesses or estimates

01/31/2022

by: Julia Kyles, CPC

Question: Here’s an example of how our doctors and non-physician practitioners are documenting office E/M visits: “Met with [patient], discussed test results from [date], recommended continuing current treatment, f/u in 3 months. Encounter start time 14:24. Encounter end time 14:43.”

Subsequent AWVs weather the COVID doldrums, yet others suffer

01/31/2022

by: Roy Edroso

The most used preventive service codes under Medicare in 2020, like most other codes, suffered a big utilization drop versus the previous pre-COVID year. Yet the biggest earner among them, the subsequent annual wellness visit (AWV), performed relatively well.

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