Provider-Based Physician Services Providers may retain physicians on a full-time or part-time basis in, for example, the fields of pathology, psychiatry, anesthesiology, and radiology, and in many instances (especially in teaching hospitals) in other fields of medical specialization as well. Any one of these physicians may be engaged in a variety of activities including teaching, […]
Physician Self-Referral Law (Stark Law) Basics The Physician Self-Referral Law, commonly referred to as the Stark law, prohibits physicians from referring patients to receive Designated Health Services (DHS) payable by Medicare or Medicaid from entities with which the physician or an immediate family member has a financial relationship unless an exception applies. Financial relationships include […]
Basics of Medicare Physician Fee Schedule As the name suggests Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) is a complete listing of fees used by Medicare to pay doctors or other providers/suppliers. This comprehensive listing of fee maximums is used to reimburse a physician and/or other providers on a fee-for-service basis. Medicare Part B pays for physician […]
Today physicians whether they own their practice or are employed by a hospital or larger health system are facing many challenges in the day-to-day routine. These common challenges include “How to use the EMR efficiently and getting paid”, overburden with administrative requirements, staffing, burnout, etc. despite their devotion to the practice of medicine and the […]
A couple of years ago medical professionals treated credentialing as an optional or unnecessary step to increase their clientele. Nowadays the scenario has completely changed, physicians are emphasizing not only on services but also on credentialing. The process of verifying and organizing professional records of the doctor is termed as physician credentialing in the healthcare […]
CMS is revising certain Medicare regulations to ensure that sufficient health care items and services are available to meet the needs of individuals enrolled in the Medicare program during the public health emergency (PHE) resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. To that end, the IFC makes temporary changes to certain policies that will affect Medicare billing […]
Critical care services must be medically necessary and reasonable. Services provided that do not meet critical care services or services provided for a patient who is not critically ill or injured in accordance with the above definitions and criteria but who happens to be in critical care, intensive care, or other specialized care units should […]
CMS received approval for a new Medicare Enrollment Application for physicians and non-physician practitioners (CMS-855I dated 12/2018). Many changes are minor; the major ones reduce provider burden: Eliminated reporting for advanced diagnostic imaging, Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments number, and the Food and Drug Administration radiology certification number Expanded instructions for individual and group affiliations to […]
Revenue cycle management (RCM) is the commercial process that uses medical billing software, which healthcare facilities use to track patient care episodes from registration and appointment scheduling to the final payment of a balance. In simple terms, it refers to the process of tracking the payments for the services rendered at a provider’s office, from […]
Today, the majority of deaths worldwide are due to four noncommunicable diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and respiratory diseases; most of these deaths are potentially preventable. Four sets of behaviors contribute to the high and growing burden of noncommunicable disease: consumption of tobacco, alcohol, and highly processed foods, as well as […]