Although Medicare has put a temporary hold on revalidating their enrolled providers due to the pandemic, this doesn’t mean you can sit back and wait for the suspension to be lifted. With COVID waning, it’s only a matter of time before Medicare revalidation deadlines are active once again. Medicare revalidation lookup. It is essential that […]

On March 12, 2021, OSHA announced a new National Emphasis Program (NEP) targeting healthcare practices just like yours. The Agency generated a random list of offices for surprise COVID-19 inspections, and inspectors are now showing up to look for safety violations – which carry severe fines. OSHA COVID-19 inspections. To avoid fines for COVID-19 OSHA […]

With the click of a button, any one of your patients can file a complaint against you for failure to grant them easy and timely access to their medical records. However, the complaint alone isn’t what you should been concerned about – it’s what comes next. patient access to medical records Complaints about patient access […]

On April 21, 2021, the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) renewed Medicare’s telehealth requirement waivers that were implemented last year during the pandemic. The new expiration date for these relaxed rules is set for the end of July. This means you have a little while longer to take advantage of these telehealth waivers, […]

CMS pays a False Claims Act whistleblower between 15% and 30% of any monies collected on the claims they submit. It’s no wonder that the Justice Department reports that 98% of all healthcare False Claims Act (FCA) cases are whistleblower-initiated. What this means is that every one of your employees is a potential whistleblower. In […]

CMS rules do not allow you to use your provider’s login credentials to manage their Medicare enrollment and ongoing revalidations in PECOS (Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System). There is a more efficient, compliant process you should be using to manage this. PECOS login. To be compliant, you must set up a PECOS login surrogacy […]

Whether you’re enrolling your provider with Medicare for the first time or responding to a revalidation request, knowing how to correctly utilize CMS’ Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System or PECOS Medicare enrollment system is essential. What is the PECOS Medicare Enrollment site, anyway? PECOS is an internet-based enrollment process that provides you with an […]

Update Notice 2021 prolonged service changes. Important: This information was updated for accuracy on April 28th, 2021. The guidelines for counting total time for code 99417 were revised to bring clarity around what can be included regarding patient education during a patient visit. You’ll find this update in the “Add Direct Plus Certain Indirect Minutes” […]

Defusing angry or hostile patients is a critical skill for everyone on your front desk team to have. How your staff handles these situations can have a positive or negative ripple effect for everyone in your office. Angry Patient Communication. In many instances, clear communication is the solution. When done correctly this can de-escalate most […]

Make no mistake—your employees are being encouraged by CMS to report any suspected Medicare fraud. Whistleblower complaints. CMS offers an incentive to complainants of between 15% to 30% of any money they collect based on the data reported.  So, depending on the extent of the violation, this can easily add up to a significant financial […]