Avoid Billing Service Nightmares

Cheryl Toth, MBA

Recently, an orthopaedic surgeon remarked that he was thinking about outsourcing his billing so he could avoid learning ICD-10 and make ICD-10 “the billing service’s problem.” But hastily outsourcing billing and collections without carefully evaluating the company can lead to problems. Choosing the wrong billing service or outsourcing for the wrong reason can quickly become a nightmare of risk and lost revenue.

Register for ICD-10 Testing Week

Providers can submit test claims March 3–7 The International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition (ICD-10) code set goes into effect on Oct. 1, 2014. To help providers prepare for the transition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will conduct national testing for current direct submitters the week of March 3–7, 2014.

USBJI Healthcare Programs Promote Good Bone Health

Free public education programs focus on fragility fractures, arthritis The U.S. Bone & Joint Initiative (USBJI) can help spread the word about the value of orthopaedic care with two free public education programs. Fit to a T is especially targeted to men and women in their mid-40s to late 60s, as well as seniors and others who have had or are at risk for fragility fractures. The program’s primary goal is to educate people on bone disease before they break a bone.

Frequently Asked Coding Questions

Mary LeGrand, RN, MA, CCS-P, CPC

The following coding questions have been raised during the past several months. Removal of spinal interbody device Q. In the operative note, the surgeon documented removal of an interbody device from L4-5. The surgeon states that a peer told him to report this procedure using CPT code 22850—removal of posterior nonsegmental instrumentation (eg, Harrington rod). The coding team does not agree. Is this work reportable and, if so, is CPT code 22850 the correct code? A.

How NOT to Promote Your Practice

Tony Edwards; Bill Champion

The ability to attract new patients is vital to a practice’s success. To do so effectively and efficiently, partners in an orthopaedic practice need to have a shared vision and to align the practice’s objectives with that vision and the needs of the market.

Doing Too Much As a Leader Doesn’t Work

J. Keith Murnighan, PhD

Being a leader can be extremely demanding, especially in a 24/7 culture that is increasingly on the go. Leaders, like most people, naturally react to increased demands by doing more. In fact, leaders do far too much. It turns out that leaders would be much more effective if they did less. Although doing nothing seems counterintuitive, it can, in the end, be remarkably effective, for several reasons.

Navigating the Perfect Storm

David P. Dyer

The healthcare industry is undergoing significant transformation. The federal government and commercial payers are focused on reducing costs by shifting to a “value-based” reimbursement system in which the highest quality outcomes delivered at the lowest possible cost is the standard. As a result of the Affordable Care Act, patients will be changing their healthcare usage patterns based upon new insurance models being introduced.

Bringing Cost of Care to the Forefront

Sean Mitchell; John Cherf, MD, MPH, MBA

One of the biggest challenges to healthcare, now and in the future, will be monitoring and controlling costs. This provides a unique challenge for practitioners, because historically, physicians have not placed adequate emphasis on overall patient cost of care. The reasons for this lack of cost consideration are multifactorial and include social, political, ethical, and legal considerations.

ICD–10 Countdown

It’s February 2014, and orthopaedic practices must implement the International Classification of Diseases, 10th edition (ICD–10) on Oct. 1—just 8 months away.

Bringing a Camera Into the OR

Stuart J. Fischer, MD

It’s a digital world. As more surgeons transition to electronic medical records (EMR), digital images are taking a greater place in patients’ “charts.” Surgeons who write or publish are accustomed to taking clinical pictures as well as snapshots of radiographs to include in articles. Modern digital technology has made it easier to take good quality pictures. But bringing a camera into the operating room (OR) can be a challenge.

In Search of the Perfect Surgical Timeout

Jeffrey M. Nakano, MD

Orthopaedic surgeons who consider surgical checklist timeouts a boon to surgery probably don’t need to read any further. Those who view them as a boondoggle, however, should read on. Surgical checklist timeouts have long been compared to seatbelts. Both can save lives, but when not used correctly, neither one works very well. The main difference between the two is that seatbelts are a lot easier to use properly and a bell sounds if the seatbelt is not used correctly.