Could you face an IRS audit in 2008?
Well your chances certainly have increased. The payoff for the IRS? . billion in enforcement revenue, compared to . billion in and . billion in . The IRS filed .... Read More >
Conducting background checks on new employee candidates
We all know that physician practices and any other employer should conduct criminal, civil and credit checks on all potential employees in every state where it is allowed. Most services... Read More >
Treating a family member- will Medicare pay?
nbsp A provider may not bill Medicare for any service provided for or ORDERED for his or her immediate family member. You should check individual contracts to see if the... Read More >
A work mantra to live by
I was talking to my neighbor last night, catching up with what s been going on with work, etc. He works for Baker Hughes and puts in dog hours when... Read More >
Federal fraud recoveries hit new high
A million federal fraud settlement with Tenet Healthcare Corp., Dallas, helped push the U.S. Justice Department s fraud recoveries to a record . billion in the fiscal year ended Sept.... Read More >
Common omissions on your patient registration form
As you review your patient registration form, don t take anything for granted. You may be surprised to discover your form fails to ask some basics such as Emergency contact... Read More >
Payer pricing transparency: Next generation steps
Beware of broad terms about what the payer may publish, such as Provider agrees to be included in our online and paper provider listings. That used to mean your name... Read More >
Product Watch: Another Credentialing Software
Yesterday’s post suggested two managed care credentialing software products you might want to check out; here’s another – it’s called symplr: https://www.symplr.com/cactus-provider-management Read More >
New Form for Misclassified Workers
nbsp The IRS has developed a new form for an employee who has been misclassified as Independent Contractors by an employer. Uncollected Social Security and Medicare Tax on Wages, Form... Read More >
Product Watch: Credentialing Software
Here are two credentialing products you might want to check out: OneApp Pro http://www.symed.com/products_OAP.aspx and Enroll DR http://www.enrolldr.com/Software/index.html Read More >
Simple ideas for employee retention
When you find good people, you want to keep them. Here are a few simple ideas to help retention of these good people . Handwrite a personal note telling an... Read More >
CMS Issues Clarification Regarding “Incident To” Services
From the Vinson Elkins law firm www.velaw.com On May , , in response to multiple inquiries, CMS issued a set of clarifying instructions regarding policies for services furnished incident to... Read More >
HIPAA is very serious business
I found this little item in yesterday s issue of Modern Healthcare s Daily Dose electronic newsletter www.modernhealthcare.com . It just goes to show that HIPAA can have a strong... Read More >
Looming retirement becoming a major concern
In a recent survey of CPAs holding the personal financial specialist credential, out of CPAs surveyed said their individual clients were concerned about retirement. The research also noted that almost... Read More >
New Worries for 401(k) Plans??
I found thia article in the recent issue of Legal Times magazine this is something you might want to talk to your financial advisor about if you have a k... Read More >
How to better validate your patients’ coverage
Validating patient coverage before you begin treatment is increasingly important. You run the risk of financial loss if you mistakenly accept or treat patients whom you believe are current members... Read More >
OIG links you should know about
nbsp For the index of recent OIG Advisory Opinions, follow this link http oig.hhs.gov fraud advisoryopinions opinions.html nbsp To see Frequently Asked Questions FAQs on the OIG Advisory Opinion process,... Read More >
High Net Worth Survey: More Pessimism, Fewer Advisors
The number of high-net-worth HNW Americans functioning without a financial advisor has risen to , a record high finding for the just-released Phoenix Wealth Survey. As pessimism over the U.S.... Read More >
Hire help to keep your nurses efficient
Although I urge using nurses and other assistants to handle tasks that help the doctor see more patients, be careful about bogging down the nurses which, in turn, slows the... Read More >
Actual lease vs equipment lease
Many times a physician practice will lease a piece of equipment and immediately think it can deduct the lease payments as they are made to the lessor. Many physician practices... Read More >
HIPAA and employee access to their own record
Another HIPAA Q amp A from HcPro s newsletter Briefings on HIPAA nbsp Q Do HIPAA regulations forbid employees from accessing their own records? For example, could a hospital employee... Read More >
Tips for your managed care exit strategy
As reimbursement continues to decline has a managed care plan ever called you to say you were getting a raise? , physician practices are going to have to take a... Read More >
Practice start ups – finding the right counsel
This actually is a critical component to getting off on the right foot. That is, making sure that you have the correct legal and business structure that will work with... Read More >
What is the difference between direct and incident-to billing
Understand Incident to Billing Rules This is where many practices have become confused. Medicare has offered two different options for the non-physician providers that we are focusing on today, NPs,... Read More >
Identify and use staff members’ strengths
Imagine this Your staffers know each other s abilities so well that they smoothly step in to perform their tasks while efficiently handing over other tasks to more suitable and... Read More >
GAO Finds Health Savings Accounts Used by Wealthy, Not Average Working Americans
Here is something interesting from last week’s HFMA newsletter; as you might recall, there was a hope that health savings accounts participation would continue to rise………………… Read More >
Whiteboards and HIPAA
From HcPro s newsletter Briefings on HIPAA Q Is writing patient s full names on whiteboards permissible? Using only initials and or first names to identify patients is very confusing... Read More >
Another comment about employee bonus programs
nbsp This again is another observation on why there aren t many employee bonus programs within physician medical practices. Most physicians have a bonus program but the employees rarely do.... Read More >
Exception reports: What you don’t know is costing you
If your computerized billing system doesn t permit automatic comparison of what you re paid to what you re supposed to be paid by each third-party payor, it s probably... Read More >
Who takes credit cards…and other lessons on getting paid
Peter Lucash s blog has written post about a physician credit card survey by SK amp A I ve written before about my frustration, as a patient, with practices who... 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 >
