Medical Office Manager

Billing and collections

Model Tool: Links for more on Office of the Investigator General Workplan

Why you need this list of links: The OIG, Office of Inspector General, oversees Medicare and Medicaid enforcement and highlights areas of focus in its enforcement efforts in a Workplan. The 2014 Workplan was released at the end of January and contains some items of note for medical practices. How this list of links helps you: Some items are new and others have been on the OIG … [Read more...] about Model Tool: Links for more on Office of the Investigator General Workplan

Get ready now for critical ICD-10 deadline

ICD-10 takes effect October 1, 2015, which doesn’t leave much time to prepare – especially when you consider the dramatic impact the new code sets will have on medical offices from the standpoint of staffing, training, and, perhaps most significant of all, financial management. Many physician practices have not started down the ICD-10 path, says Ira Shapiro, CEO of The … [Read more...] about Get ready now for critical ICD-10 deadline

Editor watches staggering changes in medical office management

By Susan Crawford Founding Editor Dear Readers: Medical Office Manager’s first issue came out in November 1987. And now after 26 years as your editor, I have retired. This is a good time to look at the issues and conundrums you as manager have faced during all that time and to congratulate you on a job well done. The changes have been staggering. You have kept up with them … [Read more...] about Editor watches staggering changes in medical office management

Don’t let the office get caught in Medicare’s pay cuts

e-scripting, EHRs, and value modifiers Medicare has been offering a lot of incentives for technology use and quality measures. But those same incentives have their dark side – payment cuts for noncompliance. Here are the three cuts to be dodging right now. And along with them is the unavoidable 2% cut brought about by sequestration. #1: the 2% cut on e-scripting Most imminent … [Read more...] about Don’t let the office get caught in Medicare’s pay cuts

E/M transitional care: Q&A on how to code it and get the payments in

Here is a bit of Q&A on the new E/M transitional care codes 99495 and 99496. These codes cover care coordination during the 30 days after discharge from a hospital or skilled nursing facility, and they include communicating with the patient or caregiver, reviewing the medication, and coordinating the care with other providers and with community services. They also require … [Read more...] about E/M transitional care: Q&A on how to code it and get the payments in

Sequestration: another 2% cut on doctors’ payments

Sequestration. It began March 1, 2013. And it is hitting doctors’ payments by 2%. As to what managers need to do to meet the payment reductions, the financial experts are all advising essentially the same things: get the copays and deductibles up front, and set up a credit-card-on-file for as many patients as possible. The sequester specifics are these: The 2% … [Read more...] about Sequestration: another 2% cut on doctors’ payments

Analyzing CPT’s updates from radiology to the end

By Therese M. Jorwic, MPH, RHIA, CCS, CCS-P In the past two issues, we covered CPT’s changes to the E/M codes and the surgery codes. Here now are the rest of the changes. They start with radiology and end with the Category III codes. Radiology There are five newcomers here, all for nuclear medicine. They begin with thyroid studies (78012-78014). The first is for thyroid … [Read more...] about Analyzing CPT’s updates from radiology to the end

Two more items for ICD-10-CM preparation: clearinghouses and coders

Getting ready for ICD-10-CM Add two more items to the office’s ICD-10-CM checklist: the billing service and the office staff who will be doing the coding. A checklist for the billing service First the billing service or clearinghouse. Medicare is telling offices to check with the services they use to make sure they are indeed up to speed in their preparation for the new … [Read more...] about Two more items for ICD-10-CM preparation: clearinghouses and coders

Keep safe from the Recovery Audit Contractors and the courts by making the corrections correctly

What flaws are the Recovery Audit Contractors searching for in records? Illegible documentation, incomplete documentation, unidentified providers, wrong dates of service – and evidence of improper corrections. To help offices stay safe, the government has set out guides for making corrections so the records pass muster with the RACs. Those same guides will also ensure the … [Read more...] about Keep safe from the Recovery Audit Contractors and the courts by making the corrections correctly