Have you seen the new free NAMAS E&M Mind Map download? The idea behind the Mind Map is that sometimes it’s easier to process and understand things through visual downloads. We envision this as being something that you, as an auditor or coder, may find value in, but also for educating providers, it’s easy to…
Let’s have a conversation about the data column on MDM. Specifically, what I’d like to address is imaging services. When a provider performs an x-ray while seeing a patient, and they are not going to bill a professional component of that test, how do we count that service? Is that service something we can count?…
Do you often bill the code 99211? I must admit, this is a service code that isn’t used much anymore, but it can be an excellent code to bill for the overhead when using our office staff. Let’s start with the Par Agreement entered into with your chosen insurance providers. This agreement states that claims…
You may have seen a couple of recent Documentation and Compliance Tips published on the NAMAS blog authored by health law attorneys who have had some opinions regarding Incident To and Shared Visits in the office/clinic space. These opinions do somewhat contradict how we have taught Incident To service and Split Shared service in place…
One of the amazing benefits of a NAMAS membership is “Ask The Expert”. For this “Take”, I’m going to share one of the questions submitted to us by a NAMAS member, Carol, about emergency room leveling related around chest pain and high complexity. So, Carol writes that the data column for most of their patients…
A question that I get asked repeatedly, that I haven’t taken the time to address in a long time, came up on a webinar that I was doing for orthopedic executives and coders. What happens when a provider sees a patient and then later finds out that they were a resident of a Skilled Nursing…
Just as we have changed professionally post-COVID, our work environments also may have changed or may need to change. In Today’s Take, I’d like to discuss the structural changes that need to take place post-COVID. Recently, Stephanie Allard did an amazing job presenting a NAMAS webinar addressing the organizational structure of your internal audit teams.…
We often spend a lot of time talking about prescription drug management. Today in our “Take” we will spend time addressing over-the-counter medication. This question was submitted to me by Kelly, who works in a dermatology practice, but her question is relevant no matter your specialty. Kelly’s question is about a physician who is using…
In the expansion category of the 2021 documentation guidelines, there’s some information that may be a little confusing that would like to review with you in Today’s Take. On page 23, under Initial Hospital Inpatient or Observation Care, under the New and Established Patient, there’s a paragraph that reads a little confusing: “If a consultation…
Today’s Take is about independent interpretation, and I know we’ve talked about this before, but I think this is one we’ll have to discuss a lot. Recently I got a question about this topic from Tracy (Hi Tracy! I’m glad to answer your question.) So, Tracy explained that her providers are pain management providers and…