If you participated in the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) in 2018, your performance feedback, which includes your MIPS final score and payment adjustment factor(s), are now available for review on the Quality Payment Program website. The MIPS payment adjustment you will receive in 2020 is based on your final score. A positive, negative, or neutral payment … [Read more...] about Deadline to submit a MIPS Targeted Review Request is this month
Billing & collections
Why you need an office policy on collecting fees
Most medical practices take time once a year to create new office goals or a business plan and, hopefully, to upgrade their policy manuals. And consideration of collecting on co-pays and deductibles needs to be an integral part of that business plan, according to Michael Glass, a medical consultant with Transworld Systems Inc. (TSI). Why bother with an office policy? The … [Read more...] about Why you need an office policy on collecting fees
Missouri staff train each other on solving the day-to-day issues
The best staff training, says a Missouri medical office manager, is the training staff give one another. At the OB/GYN office, staff do just that. They hold training sessions for one another on a "when-needed, what's-needed, and who-needs-it" basis. The office has four physicians and 25 staff. There's no set routine. The manager simply schedules an in-service whenever she sees … [Read more...] about Missouri staff train each other on solving the day-to-day issues
Doctors pay $1.1 million to settle genetic test kickback claims
Kickbacks for genetic test referrals has become a focus of recent federal enforcement action. The most recent case involves three doctors and a cardiology practice that allegedly accepted bribes from a now-bankrupt genetic testing company in the Seattle area. The DOJ claims that Natural Molecular Testing Corporation (NMT) paid doctors as much as $10,000 per month in consulting … [Read more...] about Doctors pay $1.1 million to settle genetic test kickback claims
What you need to consider before getting started in telemedicine
By Nick Hernandez bio Many practices are hearing about telemedicine and becoming increasingly interested in how such a program could be implemented in their operations. Physicians want to start a telemedicine program quickly. Practice managers don't want to learn by trial and error. The biggest issue I see by far is that practices immediately focus on the technology. … [Read more...] about What you need to consider before getting started in telemedicine
Feds target doctors who took kickbacks
When it comes to breaking up diagnostic lab kickback schemes, federal enforcers start with the lab that paid the kickbacks and then turn to the downstream physicians who accepted them. This was the pattern in the Millennium Labs case. And now it seems to be playing out in the other lab kickback mega-scandal, the one involving Health Diagnostic Laboratory, Inc. (HDL). The … [Read more...] about Feds target doctors who took kickbacks
Do you have the ‘right stuff’ to be a successful medical office manager?
As the office manager of a medical practice, you have an opportunity to learn, grow, and make a valuable contribution. "You really get the chance to be a part of a small business and to wear a lot of different hats," says Mary Pat Whaley, co-founder and president of Manage My Practice, a medical practice consulting firm. What's more, because most physicians are not business … [Read more...] about Do you have the ‘right stuff’ to be a successful medical office manager?
A 30-day collection agency letter cuts the A/R days in Atlanta office
A four-physician surgery practice has reduced its receivables significantly with a collection approach that begins when a bill gets to be a month old. At 31 days, every account with a balance greater than $50 gets turned over to the collection agency, explains Anjelica Alston, practice manager for Piedmont Colorectal Associates in Atlanta. But there’s no actual collection … [Read more...] about A 30-day collection agency letter cuts the A/R days in Atlanta office
Use weekly meetings with doctors to keep office running smoothly
Meeting every week with the doctors makes a tremendous difference in how smoothly – and also how successfully – an office operates, says the manager of a pediatrics practice in Colorado. For her office, it's an 8 a.m. meeting every Monday, a good time, because it sets the tone for the week. It also keeps everybody on the same page. And it ensures that the doctors know all the … [Read more...] about Use weekly meetings with doctors to keep office running smoothly
This 2 step program makes it easy to collect more money at the time of service
Ask any office "how well do you collect at the time of service?" and the answer will be "outstanding!" But almost no offices can define outstanding, says Reed Tinsley, CPA, a medical practice business advisor in Houston. Here's the definition: at the time of service, the office should be getting some type of payment from 90% of the patients who can pay anything, even $1. "It … [Read more...] about This 2 step program makes it easy to collect more money at the time of service