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In This Issue / August 2012

Maximizing Your Practice Revenue and Profit in the Home Stretch (Part 1 of 2)

By Laurie Morgan

2012 is now more than half over. So, now is the time to set your practice up for the home stretch...

Complimentary Webinar: Finish Strong - Make 2012 Your Most Profitable Year!
	Thursday, August 30, 2012 10:00 AM PDT / 1:00 PM EDT Speaker: Karen Zupko Register Now
During this fast-paced, dynamic presentation, you’ll learn how to: • Remove redundant steps from your revenue cycle • Improve point of service collections • Use modern payment technologies optimally • Reduce no shows • And more

Three Must-Do Compliance Tasks for Smaller Practices

By Betsy Nicoletti, M.S., CPC

For smaller groups, compliance duties are shared by several staff members, all of whom have multiple other responsibilities. How to find time? Here are three fast things you can do to protect your practice...

Physician Productivity Measures Should Include More Than Just RVUs

By Bhagwan Satiani, MD, MBA, FACS, FACHE

Besides RVUs or WRVUs, there are other ways to measure clinical productivity. Unfortunately, a number of physicians are either not aware of the details...

Top News & Ideas from Industry

Physicians Seeing Patient Visits Rebound in 2012
Emily Berry, Amednews, Aug. 6, 2012 Physician visit volume rose by 4.8% over the second quarter of 2012, according to a June 23 research report… Go to Article

Lawmakers Warned of Demise of Solo Medical Practices
Jennifer Lubell, Amednews, July 30, 2012 Physicians and health analysts testified to lawmakers that growing evidence shows doctors are shutting down their small private practices… Go to Article

CMS Poised to Release ICD-10 Deadline, Plan Identifier Rule
Joseph Goedert, Health Data Management, Aug. 9, 2012 A final rule delaying the ICD-10 compliance date soon could be issued. CMS has sent the rule for review to the Office of Management and Budget, one of the last steps before publication… Go to Article

Cloud Computing Expected to Grow Rapidly in Health Care
Emily Berry, Amednews, July 23, 2012 Hospitals and physicians have different uses for the technology, but they are likely to embrace it to save money and share information, experts say… Go to Article

Medicare Overpayments/Underpayments More Costly in 4th Qtr
AAPC News, July 26, 2012 Providers of health care services to Medicare Parts A and B beneficiaries will pay contractors more in interest for unrecouped overpayments and delinquent unrecouped underpayments in the fourth quarter of 2012... Go to Article

Insurer Ordered to Stop Asking Physicians to Pay Back Old Claims
Emily Berry, Amednews, July 26, 2012 A California insurance regulator has barred a WellPoint-owned health plan from trying to collect alleged overpayments from physicians based on claims that are more than a year old… Go to Article

Claims Payment Rule Aims to Cut Red Tape, Save $9B
Bernie Monegain, Healthcare IT News, Aug. 7, 2012 Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius released a new rule she says will cut red tape for doctors, hospitals and health plans, estimating the rule will save up to $9 billion over the next 10 years... Go to Article

CMS Offers Tips on Assembling an ICD-10 Project Team
Carl Natale , ICD-10Watch.com, Aug. 3, 2012 CMS sent an email this week with tips on assembling a project team responsible for overseeing ICD-10 planning and implementation... Go to Article

Top 21 Codes for Denied Claims
Molly Gamble, Becker’s ASC Review, July 31, 2012 Here are the top 21 claim adjustment codes, followed by reason codes, reflecting why a claim wasn't paid or was paid differently than billed. These codes pertain to claims for all specialties... Go to Article

Suspect Embezzlement? Here’s What to Do
Victoria Stagg Elliott, Amednews, Aug. 13, 2012 Embezzlement is a recurring problem at medical practices. If you think money is sliding out the door with an employee, whom do you call and what do you do? Go to Article