Staff scheduling can significantly impact the success of your practice. While scheduling may seem like a routine administrative task, its importance in retaining your valuable hourly employees cannot be overstated. A well-designed and thoughtful scheduling system can lead to increased job satisfaction, higher productivity, and improved staff retention rates. . Depending on the … [Read more...] about Be smart about scheduling to retain hourly employees
Coding
CPT update for COVID-19 boosters adapted to omicron
The American Medical Association has announced an update to Current Procedural Terminology (CPT)®, that includes eight new codes for the bivalent COVID-19 vaccine booster doses from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech. The updated boosters are adapted for the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants and the original coronavirus strain in a single dose. Four of the eight CPT codes (91312, … [Read more...] about CPT update for COVID-19 boosters adapted to omicron
Telehealth policy to change after the COVID-19 public health emergency
The COVID-19 public health emergency has been extended to Oct. 13. Of particular interest to medical practices is the continuation of telehealth flexibilities, which will expire at the end of the public health emergency. US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra officially renewed the declaration in mid-August. The emergency declaration has been in … [Read more...] about Telehealth policy to change after the COVID-19 public health emergency
Medicare covering OTC COVID-19 tests
Starting this week and through the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), Medicare covers and pays for over-the-counter (OTC) COVID-19 tests at no cost to people with Medicare Part B, including those with Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. In addition to helping prevent the spread of COVID-19, the goal is to find out if Medicare payment for OTC COVID-19 tests will … [Read more...] about Medicare covering OTC COVID-19 tests
Learn about changes and updates to telehealth
There's a lot you need to know about telehealth. That's why Medical Office Manager is offering a webinar, Telehealth—What Managers Need to Know, on April 6. It's free to Medical Office Manager members. Presenter Jen Bell of Karen Zupko and Associates will give you the tools and knowledge you need to comply with new telehealth regulations. Meanwhile here is Jen's update on … [Read more...] about Learn about changes and updates to telehealth
Medicare payment upped for COVID-19 vaccine
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has increased the Medicare payment amount for administering the COVID-19 vaccine. This new and higher payment rate will support important actions taken by providers that are designed to increase the number of vaccines they can furnish each day, including establishing new or growing existing vaccination sites, conducting … [Read more...] about Medicare payment upped for COVID-19 vaccine
New devices, technology dominate 2021 CPT code changes
By Lisa Eramo bio There is a whole slew of new and revised CPT codes—329 changes to be exact—effective since Jan. 1. This includes 206 new codes, 54 deletions, and 69 revisions. Interestingly, the majority of changes pertaining to new technology and devices, giving medical practices the opportunity to provide high-quality patient care while also receiving reimbursement. This … [Read more...] about New devices, technology dominate 2021 CPT code changes
Impact of reimbursement and compliance to WRVU-based compensation
By John McDaniel bio All physician contracts including any form of WRVU based compensation may need to be reviewed and probably amended because of the increase in WRVUʹs (work relative value units) associated with E&M CPT codes effective Jan. 1, 2021. This has been necessitated by CMS whereby the final decision involved eliminating CPT Code 99201 and leaving CPT Code … [Read more...] about Impact of reimbursement and compliance to WRVU-based compensation
Impact of 2021 evaluation and management coding changes to WRVU based physician compensation
By John McDaniel bio As you may know, all physician contracts which include any form of WRVU based compensation will need to be reviewed and probably amended due to the increase in WRVUs (work relative value units) associated with E&M CPT codes effective Jan. 1, 2021. We recently conducted an assessment for one of our hospital clients which showed the ʺunintended … [Read more...] about Impact of 2021 evaluation and management coding changes to WRVU based physician compensation
Here’s how to represent telehealth encounters in QRDA I Format for eCQMs
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has posted additional guidance for using the Quality Reporting Document Architecture I (QRDA I) format to represent telehealth encounters for the Eligible Professional and Eligible Clinician electronic clinical quality measures (eCQMs) used in CMS quality reporting programs for the 2020 and 2021 performance periods. There … [Read more...] about Here’s how to represent telehealth encounters in QRDA I Format for eCQMs