Part B News
Practices may miss opportunities with direct messaging technology
06/26/2017

Direct messaging between physicians and patients has become more common in the past few years, thanks in large part to electronic health record (EHR) meaningful use requirements that have mandated exchanges between patients and physicians. But despite plenty of hype about its potential to improve communications between physicians and patients, direct messaging is being used primarily for rudimentary purposes. 

Oft-reported drug, injection codes often pass through cleanly
06/26/2017
by: Richard Scott
You can give yourself a pat on the back for your drug-code billing — many of the most-reported drug codes showed low denial rates over calendar years 2014 and 2015.
Obamacare repeal races through Senate; DOJ makes settlement policy change
06/19/2017
by: Roy Edroso

Take note of the latest health policy updates from Washington, D.C., that affect physician practices:

OIG claims $729 million in meaningful use overpayments — be ready to defend your bonus
06/19/2017
by: Roy Edroso

An HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) report finds massive overpayments in the Medicare electronic health record (EHR) incentive program and encourages CMS to recover those payments from providers and make changes to new programs to prevent future errors.

E/M codes, prolonged care are the target of latest CCI bundled-code update
06/19/2017
by: Richard Scott
Bring in the latest billing edits from the Correct Coding Initiative (CCI) to avoid getting caught up in code-pair traps that may stymie your claims. The new edits, effective July 1, encompass E/M codes, moderate sedation services, injections and more.
Use technology when patient has delay in scheduling specialist appointment
06/19/2017

Referring patients to specialists is fairly routine for most primary care practices, but it can be a challenge when patients are enrolled in Medicaid or live in rural areas where specialists are in short supply.

Beef up exam elements, avoid specialty confusion for new-patient success
06/19/2017
by: Richard Scott

Don’t get ahead of the strict coding requirements you need to meet E/M encounters for new patients.

Online only: If your beef is with a MAC’s LCD, appeal and wait your turn for the ALJ
06/19/2017
by: Roy Edroso

Question: What can I do when a particular Medicare administrative contractor (MAC) has overstepped its bounds in a specific local coverage determination (LCD)?

Specialties billing million-plus new-patient E/Ms mostly beat denial curse
06/19/2017
by: Roy Edroso
Maybe practice makes perfect. Some specialties that billed new patient office E/M codes more than a million times in 2015 actually did well with them, compared with the generally high overall denial rate for those codes.
eClinicalWorks fraud settlement bad for co-conspirators – but likely not for users
06/12/2017
by: Roy Edroso

A fraud settlement by a major electronic health record (EHR) vendor with the Department of Justice (DOJ) has some providers spooked, but it’s unlikely that providers who use that system will lose incentive program money because of the vendor's alleged malfeasance — assuming they are innocent.

Prev Next

Login

User Name:
Password:
Forgot password
Welcome to the new Part B News Online. If you are a returning user having trouble logging in, please click here.
Quick Links
Learning Opportunities
See more...
Forum

The Forum is temporarily unavailable.

click icon to expand
Back to top
Privacy Policy
|
Terms of Use
|
© 2025 DecisionHealth, an HCPro Brand