A non-physician practitioner (NPP) cannot inject his own opinions or observations when scribing for a physician, or your practice risks violating Medicare's rules for documenting a service.

Few changes in the proposed 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule specifically mention non-physician practitioners (NPPs) - except a stinging pay cut for chiropractors, according to an NPP Report analysis. 

This week's question was answered with the assistance of Margie Scalley Vaught, CPC, Coding Content Specialist for DecisionHealth.

Q. Is a family practice doctor allowed to bill 92250 (fundus photography, $65.28) with a medical necessity diagnosis?

Medicare dollars set aside for treating illegal aliens have been exhausted in ten states, one of which shares a direct border with Mexico.

The ten Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) measures listed below had the highest acceptance rates in 2007, according to a CMS report.

Imagine if the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) was suddenly able to set the payments you get under the physician fee schedule and control coverage policies through transmittals - gaining powers now held by both Congress and CMS.

Successfully participating in the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) will get your provider's name on a list available to the public on Medicare's website. The public disclosure is not optional and that's got physician advocates worried.

With cases of the H1N1 or swine flu expected to rise with the onset of colder weather, be prepared to use a new ICD-9 code for diagnosing the new disease.

You and your peers are keeping patients in observation longer while evaluating if they should be admitted as inpatients or sent home, a Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) study shows. But watch out, observation services will be scrutinized by your carrier, as well as the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG), due to the skyrocketing rate these services have been billed in recent years, Part B News predicts.  

Efforts to move forward on comprehensive health reform are stalled in both houses of Congress and lawmakers will postpone final action on the reform bill until after the Aug. 7 recess, Part B News has learned.