Educate patients on the difference between Medicare-paid annual wellness visits (AWVs) and physical exams in advance of the visit and you will increase efficiency, enabling you to bill for as many AWVs as possible with the least amount of hassle.

Your practice can only get denied claims paid by submitting an appeal letter to your payer, but there is no uniform appeals process. Get paid faster and up your chances of overturning a denial by tailoring appeals by payer, experts tell Part B News.

These graphs compare how paper-based practices performed against EHR practices in two categories – total medical revenue and days gross FFS charges in A/R – based on 2010 survey data by the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA). NOTE:EHR practices are separated by those that implemented EHR for a year or less and those that have had EHR for two to four years. NOTE:Both graphs make the comparisons for three physician types: Primary care, surgical specialists and nonsurgical specialists.

Changes in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, healthcare reform, and market competition are all driving change not only in how hospitals and health systems approach patient care, but also in how physician compensation models are taking shape, according to a new HealthLeaders Media Intelligence Report, Physician Compensation: Shifting Incentives.

It is easy to say that patients are at the center of healthcare, but a challenge healthcare leaders face centers on the question of responsibility for the patients' care. Some providers are evaluating the patients' role, committing resources to help educate them as to their central place in healthcare. Others are still struggling to understand the impact of patient-centered approaches.