Teaching
Teaching Documentation May Soon Become Easier

Wheelchairs
Say Goodbye To CMNs, Say Hello To Administrative Nightmares

P4P
Phase In P4P Over Time, Societies Urge Congress

Physician Notes
Non-Compete Agreements Non-Enforceable In TN

Pay for Performance
AARP Comes Out In Favor Of Pay-For-Performance Bill

OIG
Carriers Should Crack Down On CPO, OIG Says

CMS
CMS Offers Free IT To Physicians

Legislation
New House Bill Would Repeal Physician Update Formula

Technology
Sickest Medicare Patients Still Go To Physicians With Poor Technology

Reimbursement
CMS Should Act To Save Physician Payments, Legislators Insist

Modifiers
Can't Decide on a Modifier? Check the Global Period

Technology
Bills Would Boost Health IT

Medicare
Consider Bundling Services, MedPAC Advises

Pay for Performance
P4P May Lead To A Transfer From Some Specialties To Others

Surgery
Advanced Nurse Practitioner Can Be Assistant At Surgery, Carrier Says

Hospital Discharge Coding
Add $25 To Your Discharge Pay With Proper Documentation

CMS
CMS Monitoring IVIG Access

Fraud & Abuse
Resident Supervision, Upcoded E/Ms Spell $1.9 Million Payback

Pay for Performance
AMA Will Oppose Any P4P That Doesn't Meet Standards

Physician Notes
Forget About Applying To Own A Specialty Hospital This Year

Fraud & Abuse
Resident Supervision, Upcoded E/Ms Spell $1.9 Million Payback

CMS
Drug Admininstration Edits Revoked

Clarification
Medicare Clarifies Tricky Therapy Supervision Issue

Diagnosis Coding
New Overweight, BMI Codes Useful For Bariatric Surgery

Physician Notes
NQF Proposes Objective Physician Quality Measures

Correct Coding Initiative
Chemotherapy Edits Revoked Retroactive To April

CMS
You Can Receive Shortage Bonus Only For Professional Component

Specialty
Specialty Hospital Moratorium Bill Could Be DOA

Pulmonology
Unattended Sleep Testing Not Covered

CMS
Medicare Clarifies Tricky Therapy Supervision Issue

Smoking Cessation
Medicare Issues New Smoking Cessation Codes -- But acupuncture codes won't be covered

MGMA
MGMA Database Offers Benchmarking Opportunities For Doctors

Quality
NQF Proposes Objective Physician Quality Measures

Studies
Spine Surgery Centers Drove New Procedures

Recovery Audit Contractors
Your E/M Visit Levels Are Safe From RAC Scrutiny

Physician Payments
Fixing 4.3 Percent Cut Shouldn't Raise Premiums, AARP Argues

AMA
RVU review likely to boost more codes

Internal Medicine
No Re-Certification Without Practice Improvement

Claims
Don't Resubmit Denied Claims Starting July 5

Ambulatory Surgery Centers
Keep On-Site ASCs Totally Separate From Offices

Claims
Don't Resubmit Denied Claims Starting July 5

Oncology
Chemotherapy Reimbursement Not Covering $144 Million Cost

Coding
CMS Finally Junks "G" Codes For PET Scans

Documentation
Make Docs Say TIA When They Mean TIA

Congress Update
Lawmakers Finally Ready To Grapple With Looming Physician Pay Cuts

Medicare
Patients Regained Lost Ground In Medicare Physician Access Struggle

NCCI
AMA Could Develop Its Own Correct Coding Initiative

Box
DME Changes Could Make Life Easier

Incident-to-Billing
Court Upholds Incident-To Supervision Requirement

Coverage
CMS Adds PET Scan Tumor Coverage

Technology
CMS Puts A Rush On Electronic Prescriptions

Transmittals
CMS Improves Pap Smear Coding Options -- But normal Pap smear after abnormal pap still not covered

Premiums
Congress Won't Have Time To Fix Physician Payment Mess

Fraud
Doc Faces 30 Years In Prison For Alleged Double Billings, False Claims

Reimbursement
Brace Yourself for A New Layer Of Audits

Medicare
Formulary Leaves Out Crucial Drugs

Physician Notes
CMS Will Call The Tune, You'll Give The Performance

Coding
Doctors Are Managing More Complex Patients, But E/M Payments Remain Stingy

Flu
Frustrated By Flu Vaccine Shortage? Try Antiviral Meds

OIG
Malpractice Insurance Subsidy Passes OIG Muster --Skyrocketing malpractice costs require drastic measures

Medicare
Congress To Seek $100 Billion In Medicare Savings

E/M
What's One E/M Level Between Auditors?

New Codes
CMS Gives An Extra 50 CM To Gastric Bypass Surgeons --The addition means fewer denials for procedures

Pay Rates
Physician Pay Formula Is Broke --But Will Congress Fix It?

Compliance
Don't Treat Non-English Speakers Like LEPers

OIG
OIG Saves Medicare $30 Billion In 2004

Hospitals
'Whole Hospital' Exception Under Fire

Physician Notes
Sustainable Growth Rate Has Outgrown Its Usefulness, GAO Says

Payments
Gastroenterologists Stomach Massive Loss From PE-RVUs

Reimbursement
Carriers Can't Punish You For Self-Disclosing Problems

Fee Schedule
New Codes Split Components

Durable Medical Equipment
Are You Throwing $200 K Away? Gain reimbursement for items that you already provide

Evaluate Your DME Situation First
Before you obtain a durable medical equipment supplier number, stop and make sure doing so is worthwhile for you