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8 tips for choosing a debt collections agency, using it compliantly

05/04/2015

Know who is collecting debt from patients on your practice’s behalf to avoid being on the hook for a collections agency’s bad behavior.

5 questions about workload, culture to answer before adding PAs, NPs

05/04/2015

by: Roy Edroso

Along with a financial analysis, evaluate whether your practice has the right mix of procedures, patients and physician attitude when you consider taking on nurse practitioners (NPs) or physician assistants (PAs).

Take immediate steps to protect your practice from costly ransomware attacks

05/04/2015

by: Joshua Poltilove

A recent cyberattack on a private duty agency should serve as a reminder to conduct regular system backups and take other steps to protect your practice from ransomware, a new trend in hacking.

E/M visits, psych consults top list of services using telehealth

05/04/2015

by: Richard Scott

You can provide 74 distinct services via telehealth in calendar year 2015 and get paid for them, which marks a 10% boost in the number of telehealth services Medicare now covers compared with 2014.

SGR repeal a benefit but H.R. 2’s cost, reporting provisions cause concern

04/27/2015

by: Richard Scott

Count the repeal of the sustainable growth rate (SGR) payment formula as a win for physicians but be wary of the financial impact that other parts of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (H.R. 2) will have on your practice.

H.R. 2 eases gainsharing programs between docs, hospitals

04/27/2015

by: Richard Scott

Your practice can collaborate more easily with an acute care facility without the threat of a large fine now that “medical necessity” is included in gainsharing rules.

Good news for attesters — and maybe for abstainers — in new meaningful use rule

04/27/2015

by: Roy Edroso

Stage 2 attesters aren’t the only providers who will have an easier time if the meaningful use proposed rule released April 10 is finalized as is — providers who gave up on attesting in 2015 may have a chance to get back in too.

2 tips to prepare with vendors, insurers in case your practice’s EHR goes down

04/27/2015

by: Roy Edroso

An EHR outage at a big urgent care chain shows that while such downtime may be a rare event, it can be a major hassle for your practice and you should talk to practice partners about how to handle it ahead of time.

No history, no problem if patient is unresponsive — but document it

04/27/2015

by: Roy Edroso

If a review of systems (ROS) is unobtainable because the patient is intubated, is it impossible to claim new patient E/M outpatient codes (99201-99205) that require all three elements (history, exam and medical decision-making)?

How changes in medical debt reporting affect your collections of patient payments

04/27/2015

by: Marla Durben Hirsch

Practices should review their accounts receivable and revisit their collection policies now that medical debt is receiving new national attention.

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