Part B News

Alere, accused of selling defective heart diagnostic tool, settled with feds for $33.2 million

by: Roy Edroso Mar 23, 2018

Triage, a medical device used to diagnose heart issues, didn't work -- and its maker, Alere, charged with selling it anyway, just settled with the U.S. Department of Justice for $33.2 million.

CMS instructs MACs to reprocess GPCI-lifted anesthesia claims

by: Julia Kyles, CPC Mar 21, 2018

The Balanced Budget Act of 2018 contains good news for anesthesia practices in 52 localities. The law raises the practice work geographic practice cost index (GPCI) to 1.000 in the 52 localities, which will in turn lift the locality-adjusted conversion factor for anesthesia services, and the increase will be retroactive to Jan. 1.

E/M burden reduction call will target specific ways to make E/M visits easier

by: Julia Kyles, CPC Mar 20, 2018

CMS has already taken one small step to reduce the E/M documentation burden for teaching physicans. Tomorrow, the agency will hold a session that could result in a giant leap that makes documenting E/M visits easier for all clinician-kind. However, CMS needs the input of medical practice staff to launch the effort.

5 providers bleed cash after DOJ catches venous sufficiency coding snafu

by: Julia Kyles, CPC Mar 19, 2018

Investigators and prosecutors continue to use their coding knowledge to wring big settlements from practices. These tactics have left four physician practices poorer by an average of $218,465, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Maryland announced on March 16.

Ortho practice boss on how he cut 90-day A/R by 60%

by: Roy Edroso Mar 15, 2018

Recently, Part B News reported on some new ways to improve patient collections in the physician practice setting. We also discussed the subject with Joe Clark, CEO of Sierra Pacific Orthopedics in Fresno, Calif., from which the following is excerpted. He told us, among other things, why Sierra Pacific Orthopedics doesn't take advance payments, how he runs his credit card on file, how he reduced 90-day A/R by more than 60% and the secret to effective staff-patient payment communications.

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