CMS' rule for billing preadmission nondiagnostic services has long determined how physicians can bill for certain types of care, like presurgical lab tests, before a patient is admitted to a hospital, but now the requirements have been changed. The new rule broadens the requirement so that more ­outpatient procedures will have to be bundled with the inpatient billing.

In the medical setting, electronic devices are supposed to help improve communication between physicians and various individuals and functions in the hospital. Despite how handy they are, mobile devices can negatively affect a physician's interactions with patients. Some patients may feel that physicians have become so distracted by their devices that they neglect the patient's need to feel listened to.

Since the mandated transition to HIPAA Version 5010 began January 1, data disruptions, unforeseen rejections of claims, and ­improper mailings because of address issues have stopped docs from getting paid.  

The final 2012 Medicare physician payment rule from CMS includes an adjusted fee schedule for the Geographic Practice Cost Index (GPCI) that some industry leaders say is a great deal more fair to many physicians.

Merging groups in healthcare are often forced to work together after being ­competitors for years. Can physicians who compete and dislike one another put their differences aside and join a ­hospital organization with the shared goals of maintaining quality and reducing costs? Can they overcome the competitive mind-set? Can they achieve championship-quality healthcare?

The long-anticipated proposed rules for ­Stage 2 meaningful use were released in February by HHS.

It appears providers will have no new diagnosis code changes to contend with next year. CMS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are officially proposing no changes to the ICD-9-CM or ICD-10-CM code sets for 2013.

Look forward to getting more time before a provider’s start date to submit an enrollment, the ability to upload supporting documents and, at long last, the ability to reset your login and password for the Internet-based Provider Enrollment Chain and Ownership System (PECOS). Those practice-friendly changes head a list of upcoming enrollment updates detailed by CMS officials.

Research patient insurance and deductible status before the patient arrives at the office to improve point-of-service deductibles collections required by your payer contracts. Example: Paris (Texas) Orthopedic Clinic checks patient eligibility through a feature in its electronic health records (EHR) as soon as the appointment is made.