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
Coding
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
Updated info for Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine
On Dec. 11, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID‑19 Vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19 for individuals 16 years of age and older. Review Pfizer’s Fact Sheet for Healthcare Providers Administering Vaccine (Vaccination Providers) regarding the limitations of authorized use. During the COVID-19 … [Read more...] about Updated info for Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine
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
Physicians should consider these overlooked codes
By Lisa Eramo bio It’s a common complaint heard among primary care physicians: Evaluation and management (E/M) codes don’t adequately capture the time, skill, and resources necessary to plan and coordinate care for patients with complex medical needs. Although new, streamlined E/M guidelines for 2021 may help, several existing remedies can enable physicians to capture … [Read more...] about Physicians should consider these overlooked codes
AMA puts out telemedicine guide
The American Medical Association (AMA) has compiled a guide to help physicians get telemedicine up and running so they can safely care for patients. The telemedicine quick guide outlines the first steps to get started and lays out key considerations to implementing telemedicine and explains policy, coding and payment. Even if your practice didn’t use telemedicine before, it … [Read more...] about AMA puts out telemedicine guide
CDC issues testing and claims recommendations
The CDC has recommended collecting a single upper respiratory nasopharyngeal swab for diagnosis of COVID-19, as of March 13. CPT code 87635 or HCPCS code U0002 can be reported for the non-CDC diagnostic lab test, depending on the method used. HCPCS code U0001 can be reported for the CDC diagnostic lab test. Labs, physician offices, hospitals and other settings can bill for … [Read more...] about CDC issues testing and claims recommendations