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HHS OCR: Penalize non-compliant employees to protect privacy, security

04/29/2024

Make sure your HIPAA compliance toolkit includes a few sticks to punish employees who violate your practice’s compliance guidelines, along with any carrots you use to reward compliance. And warn staff that the practice can’t let violations slide: Sanctions for HIPAA non-compliance are mandatory and the threat of punishment is designed to encourage compliance and safeguard patients, protected health information (PHI) and your practice from a breach.

‘Administrative’ fees for patient messages? Not if it’s about treatment.

04/29/2024

by: Roy Edroso

Question: I have seen stories in the press about practices charging “administrative fees” for calls, emails and texts from patients. I can’t see how this would be allowed by insurers. Can I really charge for this?

Make sure TPIs scheduled before April 1 will meet new LCD policy

04/29/2024

by: Julia Kyles, CPC

Question: Our Medicare administrative contractor (MAC) has adopted the new local coverage determination (LCD) for trigger point injections (20552-20553). The LCD limits the number of trigger point injections a patient may receive to three sessions per rolling 12-month period. Will the April 24 visit count as the third injection under the LCD?

Take tips from Green Ridge cybersecurity case to bolster compliance

04/29/2024

by: Dom Nicastro

In a significant development underscoring the growing threat of cyberattacks in the health care sector, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently announced a settlement with Green Ridge Behavioral Health LLC concerning a ransomware attack that compromised the protected health information (PHI) of over 14,000 individuals.

Take note of new code, billing method for injectable steroid

04/29/2024

by: Laura Evans, CPC

Take note of new code, billing method for injectable steroid

04/29/2024

by: Laura Evans, CPC

Make sure your orthopedic practice is up to date on coding for injected methylprednisolone acetate (ster-oid). Effective for date of service April 1, codes J1020, J1030 and J1040 are no longer active. Instead, practices should use a new code, J1010 (Injection, methylprednisolone acetate, 1 mg).

Virtual check-in, e-visit codes opened strong in 2020, then collapsed

04/29/2024

by: Roy Edroso

There was a burst of enthusiasm among providers when e-visits became billable to Medicare at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but that excitement quickly waned and hasn’t bounced back.

More than 250 new ICD-10 codes proposed for Oct. 1

04/22/2024

by: Megan Herr and Julia Kyles, CPC

The proposed ICD-10 code changes -- released with the FY2025 Hospital Inpatient PPS (IPPS) proposed rule on April 10 -- include three new codes to better track the severity of patients with hypoglycemia.

As urgent care rises, maintain connections with patients to keep them coming

04/22/2024

by: Roy Edroso

A recent survey shows that many Medicare-eligible patients are visiting urgent care instead of their primary care provider, a tendency that PCPs may be able to stem with some extra attention.

CMS eases longstanding ban on P.O. boxes in NPPES rule

04/22/2024

by: Julia Kyles, CPC

Individual providers who only work from home can now use a United States Postal Service post office box (P.O. box) for their practice location address in the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES). The update went into effect April 3, 2024.

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