By Dr. Steve M. Cohen In dealing with your office staff, allegations of wrongdoing are never something you can ignore. Whether the charge involves sexual or racial harassment, bullying or something else, they must never be ignored. Never. Remember, an allegation by itself is neither fact nor fiction. It is simply a statement made by someone within your organization. In many … [Read more...] about Workplace accusations mean it’s time to investigate
General
How to use Modifier 24 and 25
By Aimee Wilcox, MA, CST, CCS-P Modifier 24 is reported as follows: Append only to Evaluation and Management (EM) codes. Use only to report an EM service beginning the day after a procedure performed by the same physician during the past 10 or 90 postoperative days. The patient's record must document that the EM service was solely for the treatment of an underlying condition … [Read more...] about How to use Modifier 24 and 25
What you need to know about medical marijuana
With medical marijuana now legal in 20 states and Washington, D.C., and legislation pending in 13 other states*, medicinal use of cannabis has very much become a national issue – and of course it's an issue with numerous implications for medical practices and the people who manage them. Richard F. Comenzo is a Massachusetts attorney specializing in medical marijuana laws. His … [Read more...] about What you need to know about medical marijuana
Indiana office uses billboards and TV to bring in a flood of new patients
An Indiana practice is seeing a significant number of new patients from a billboard and a TV commercial. It's money well spent, says Laurie Streib, administrator of Gastroenterology of Southern Indiana, an eight-physician, 43-staff practice in New Albany, IN. And getting the advertising going has been amazingly easy – the billboard company designed the sign and the television … [Read more...] about Indiana office uses billboards and TV to bring in a flood of new patients
Can you and should you use Facebook to screen job applicants?
"We don't think employers should be asking prospective employees to provide their Facebook passwords (for pre-hiring background checking) because we don't think it's the right thing to do." -- Facebook (statement on company's website) Facebook's statement has set off a firestorm of controversy and misinformation. The popular consensus seems to be that the employer's practice … [Read more...] about Can you and should you use Facebook to screen job applicants?
New York OB/GYN practice discovers 2 astonishingly easy ways to pull in more patients
A one-physician OB/GYN practice that opened in the last decade reached its patient census goals almost immediately using nothing but common-sense marketing. It became so busy, in fact, that it is now open an additional two nights a week plus Saturday mornings. The marketing has focused on two elements. First is no waiting. “We’ve had patients transfer here just because they … [Read more...] about New York OB/GYN practice discovers 2 astonishingly easy ways to pull in more patients
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
Codes for radiographs of the thumb
By Aimee Wilcox, MA, CST, CCS-P If you've ever taken piano lessons, you know that the thumb is considered the first finger of the hand. However, when you are coding an x-ray of the thumb, you will find that this is considered part of the hand and not a finger. Let's look at the three codes we will be reviewing: • Code 73140 – Radiologic examination, finger(s), minimum of … [Read more...] about Codes for radiographs of the thumb
A clearinghouse isn’t the answer to ICD-10
Getting ready for ICD-10-CM Don’t plan to rely on a clearinghouse to get the office through ICD-10-CM. Clearinghouses can provide a lot of help, the government says, but not the same level of support they provided for the Version 5010 upgrade. The reason is that ICD-10 is based on clinical documentation, and the coding requires medical knowledge as well as familiarity with … [Read more...] about A clearinghouse isn’t the answer to ICD-10
Will you be ready for the big ICD-10 changeover?
The deadline for the changeover to ICD-10 is quickly approaching. Your medical office needs to be ready to make the switch to the new code version by Oct.1, 2015. On that date, the ICD-9 code sets used to report medical diagnoses and inpatient procedures will be replaced by ICD-10 code sets. The transition to ICD-10 is required for everyone covered by the Health Insurance … [Read more...] about Will you be ready for the big ICD-10 changeover?