No NPI Means No Payment Income
From Ober Kaler www.ober.com As you know, beginning March of this year, claims without a National Provider Identifier NPI number in the primary provider field and claims with only a... Read More >
HIPAA and another celebrity breach
nbsp Los Angeles Times, April , Months before UCLA Medical Center caught staffers looking at the medical records of Britney Spears, Farrah Fawcett learned that a hospital employee had gone... Read More >
Managed Care Contracting Clauses: A Tool-Kit for Providers
Managed Care Contracting Clauses With Top Managed Care Contracting Clauses A Tool-kit for Providers, you will receive a comprehensive set of checklists, forms, letters and clauses, which you can customize... Read More >
When to hire a consultant
From the Medical Group Management Association www.mgma.com When you need an objective point of view When the problem or situation is short-term When the problem requires special expertise When your... Read More >
What to Do When a Physician Departs
Steps to take when a Physician Departs When a physician leaves, most group practices first check out their buy sell documents regarding departure issues what generally is not written how... Read More >
Texas Hospital Self-Reports Stark Violation to Feds, Winds Up With $400,000 Settlement despite Voluntary Reporting
Reprinted from REPORT ON MEDICARE COMPLIANCE, the nation s leading source of news and strategic information on false claims, overpayments, compliance programs, billing errors and other Medicare compliance issues. By... Read More >
Individual interests must take a backseat to group success
The traditional group practice must mature beyond its members me-first attitude. This maturity should evolve naturally, but the elements of individualism and competitiveness built into medical practice argue against it.... Read More >
CMS updates flu shot codes
Carriers will begin paying for a pediatric flu vaccination code while the value of a nasal influenza vaccination code will go up, according to Transmittal to the CMS Claims Processing... Read More >
‘Supervision’ Is Key Issue in New CMS Transmittal That Poses a Major Threat to Provider-Based Clinics
Hospitals may be in a tight spot because CMS unexpectedly has changed the physician supervision requirement for certain outpatient therapeutic services provided incident to a physician s services. Some experts... Read More >
3rd edition of HcPro’s HIPAA training classic now available
Continuing the excellence of the earlier editions, HIPAA Privacy and Security Training Reminders for the Healthcare Staff offers realistic training exercises that provide reinforcement of key HIPAA principles and the... Read More >
Verify practice liability when staffers travel
Remember, you re legally responsible if a member of your staff is injured or injures someone else while engaged in any activity associated with his or her employment. In most... Read More >
Patient Arbitration Pacts Are Alarming Attorneys
nbsp Vesna Jaksic The National Law Journal March , Binding arbitration agreements between doctors and patients in which patients waive their right to a jury trial are becoming more common,... Read More >
Project, don’t wish
If you build stretch goals into your budget, base them on something realistic. When you budget new revenue, make sure there s an achievable source, such as adding new services... Read More >
How a receiptionist can ruin patient satisfaction
I continue to be amazed at how many medical practices do not keep tabs on their front desk personnel. Are they courteous to patients? Are they friendly? Do they go... Read More >
Basic checklist for E/M documentation
The following checklist appeared in the April, issue of Managed Care Contracting amp Reimbursement Advisor I m on the editorial board www.hcpro.com Is the chief complaint clearly stated? Are the... Read More >
2008 Auto Depreciation Limits
IRS Rules on Vehicle Depreciation and Leasing Economic Stimulus Act The Economic Stimulus Act of increased the Section F luxury auto depreciation limit by , for qualifying vehicles placed in... Read More >
Modernize and stay connected
Some studies estimate that at least of your patients seek alternative healthcare or self-medicate with natural dietary supplements. Make sure your new patient form asks about medications, other physicians specifically... Read More >
Billing for Medically Necessary Visit on Same Occasion as Preventive Medicine Service
When a physician furnishes a Medicare beneficiary a covered visit at the same place and on the same occasion as a noncovered preventive medicine service CPT codes - , consider... Read More >
Traits of an effective manager in a medical practice (or any other business)
I am absolutely passionate about helping medical practice managers become better at nurturing, mentoring, coaching, building relationships and focusing on the people they lead. I see a significant lack of... Read More >
New focus of inquiry into bribes: Doctors
From Healthleaders www.healthleadersmedia.com The long-running federal investigation into the orthopedic device industry s suspected kickback payments to hip and knee surgeons now has been focusing on the many doctors who... Read More >
Life Insurance and Estate Taxes
The following was contributed by my son, Sean Tinsley, who works for AXA Advisors in Austin, Texas sean.tinsley axa-advisors.com An alternative to selling assets to pay for estate taxes is... Read More >
Physician referrals to physician-owned ASCs
This little nugget came from HFMA www.hfma.org does this really surprise you?? Physicians who refer the most patients to physician-owned ambulatory surgical centers ASCs disproportionately send privately insured patients to... Read More >
Analysis of MedPac 2008 report
My good friend, Mark Dietrich, CPA www.cpa.net has provided an excellent summary of Medpac s report the following is the summary from his recent blog post I have been reviewing... Read More >
Patient reminder cards and HIPAA
HIPAA Compliant Appointment Reminders From HcPro s newsletter Briefings on HIPAA Q I send patient reminders for annual examinations and follow-up appointments. Are postcards permissible or does this method disclose... Read More >
Insurers, doctors at odds over concierge care
Here is an article that appeared in my local newspaper, the Houston Chronicle Concierge Medical Practice Consultant Doctors who charge an annual fee to patients in exchange for customized care... Read More >
Tips for supervising
These Tips appeared in the August issue of the Journal of Accountancy They apply to physician practices today just as well as to accounting firms Hire carefully Establish workplace standards... Read More >
Allscripts, Misys Healthcare to form new company
I m sure everyone by now has heard about the Allscripts Mysis combination the announcement below was posted by Modern Healthcare. I m glad to see further consolidation of healthcare... Read More >
Payer mix analysis
As part of your monthly financial reporting and analysis work, you should be looking at payer mix analyses. You should prepare a trended report of both charges and payments. By... Read More >
Opting out of the call schedule
Many group practice agreements are silent on the issue of when a physician can opt out of the call schedule. As such, make sure this issue is addressed in writing... Read More >
New Legislation Aims to Prevent Physician Reimbursement Cuts
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn R-Texas has introduced legislation to improve healthcare access for Medicare patients by guaranteeing that physicians Medicare reimbursements would not be cut over the next months. The... Read More >
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As a top advisor to physicians, I help increase practice profits by delivering hands-on, expert medical accounting/tax support, practice counsel, and revenue-building strategies. Read More >
