Part B News
Mind the time rules: There are two ways of tracking time for E/M visits
02/22/2021
by: Julia Kyles, CPC
Practices can use the new time-based coding method for E/M office visits (99202-99205, 99212-99215) and continue to use counseling/coordination of care time for other E/M visits that have a typical time associated with the code. But if coding staff and billing practitioners confuse the two methods, you will be confronted with improper coding and payments.
Patients not back from COVID-19? Mobilize your tech outreach, harness your data
02/22/2021
by: Roy Edroso
If you still need to get patients back in the office after a year of COVID-inflicted downturn, put your focus on the methods that kept patients showing up before the plague hit, including the trusty, if sometimes overlooked, patient portal.
Watch 10 compliance areas that impact remote patient monitoring
02/22/2021
by: Marla Durben Hirsch
Incorporating remote patient monitoring into a physician practice can improve patient care and boost a practice’s revenue stream.
X modifier use skyrockets, and denial rate drops for the 59 replacement
02/22/2021
by: Roy Edroso
Despite the fact that the four X modifiers still don’t have a totally defined role as an alternative to modifier 59 (Distinct procedural service), their utilization continues to expand. A drop in denial rates shows that they may be worth rolling the dice on.
Provider Relief Fund audits coming; pick your method and keep good records
02/15/2021
by: Roy Edroso
If you are among the hundreds of thousands of providers who received Provider Relief Fund (PRF) payments last year, you’ll be pleased to hear that one of your deadlines had been postponed, and your chances of hanging onto the money are better than they were in October when the last tranche of payments was distributed. But you should still be prepared for audits.
Risk reduction: For E/M office visits, let the clinician select risk to maintain accuracy
02/15/2021
by: Julia Kyles
Code faster and prevent improper payments for office E/M visits in one step: Ask the treating physician or qualified health care professional to select and document the level of risk. Doing so will also align your coding practices with the new CPT guidelines.
As practices wait for vaccines to appear, experts advise close patient check-ins
02/15/2021
by: Roy Edroso
The movement of COVID-19 vaccines through the health care system remains slow, and both providers and patients continue to be stressed and may have to cope with COVID workloads for a while to come.
For a revenue boost, consider adding remote patient monitoring to your practice
02/15/2021
by: Marla Durben Hirsch
Practices looking for a way to improve patient care and boost the practice’s income may want to look into — or increase their use of — remote patient monitoring, also known as remote physiologic monitoring.
Imaging services net $3.7B for practices, but watch for the spine X-rays
02/15/2021
by: Richard Scott
You may want to inspect your spinal X-rays a tad more closely: Of the most-reported imaging services performed in place of service 11 (Office), code 72100 (Radiologic examination, spine, lumbosacral; 2 or 3 views) fares the worst, with a denial rate over 13%.
After violent incident, assist authorities, pursue patient outreach measures ASAP
02/08/2021
by: Roy Edroso
A murder-suicide at a doctor’s office in Texas serves as a distressing reminder that, in addition to an active-shooter protocol, a physician practice should prepare a post-incident response to help employees and patients cope and insulate itself from liability.
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