A recent court decision to throw out a doctor’s well-publicized defamation case raises the question: What’s the best way to deal with negative online comments about your practice?

Physician practices can use a new free service to store data for one-stop electronic funds transfer (EFT) enrollments with private payers, thanks to the service from CAQH (formerly known as the Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare).

Practices may be tempted to charge administrative fees to patients as reimbursements for providing services dwindle, but be careful. Those fees could cost you in the long run.

After reading our coverage of the HIPAA “mega-rule," a reader asked us: Should landlords be considered business associates under HIPAA and be made to fill out a business associate agreement? 

Don’t wait until your patients present with symptoms to perform a screening colonoscopy rather than a diagnostic. Even though both the preventive services and diagnostic procedures pay the same, the former removes patient financial responsibility and causes less hassle for your front desk.

This table and chart depict billing and denial trends for colon cancer screening and diagnostic services from 2010 to 2011. Denial rates overall remained low, less than 10%, and diagnostic colonoscopies were by far the top-billed services for both years followed by fecal occult screenings (G0328).

Pay attention to the order of the numerator and denominator when entering clinical quality measure (CQM) information to attest for meaningful use incentives by the Feb. 28 deadline.

Start evaluating your payment information affiliated with medical companies and be prepared to answer patients’ questions about that money when that information goes public this fall.

Pay attention to the nature of the patient’s stay to determine the correct place of service (POS) code in assisted living facilities (ALFs) and skilled nursing facilities (SNFs).