Healthcare Practice Advisor Blog

This is the place to turn to for physician practice-specific how-to-articles to help you overcome the top challenges you face in medical coding & billing, compliance, credentialing, practice management, HIPAA, and more.

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CPT Code 99443: Get $110 Per 30-Minute Telephone Call

You can add thousands of dollars in revenue for your telephone calls (99441-99443) thanks to new CMS rules. Pre-coronavirus, these codes netted a big fat $0. But now Medicare is paying up to $110 for a 30-minute call if you get your billing right. To capture this added payment fast without facing improper claims penalties, […]

Published Date: May 22, 2020

CPT Code 99211: Get $23 Per Patient on Nurse Telehealth

New CMS rules now allow you to earn $23 for a registered nurse video call with CPT code 99211. Follow these updated Medicare eligibility and incident to rules to ensure you’re fully reimbursed for telehealth nurse calls. Expand Providers Who Can Now Bill Telehealth Services On a May 14, 2020 CMS Office Hours call, CMS […]

Published Date: May 21, 2020

FFCRA: Comply with COVID-19 Employee ‘Reduced Hours’ Rules

QUESTION: Several of our staff have requested to work less hours per week because of the current unavailability of childcare due to COVID 19. Based on the recent pandemic-related employment rule changes, are we required to pay these employees for their full-time schedule or can we only pay them what they work? Question from Fort […]

Published Date: May 20, 2020

restarting elective surgery after covid-19

2 Policies Restart Your Elective Surgeries Post Coronavirus

Your practice’s financial stability means you have to quickly scale your elective surgeries back to pre-coronavirus days while complying with new safety guidelines. Two of the top policies you need to iron out and then communicate are your pre-surgical COVID-19 screening processes and surgery visitation allowances. As you create and implement your new COVID-19 surgical […]

Published Date: May 19, 2020

SBA PPP FAQS: Proven Tactics to Get Max Loan Forgiveness

Whether you’ve already received your funds from the Small Business Association’s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), or you’re still waiting for approval, there are several important rules you must know about. Comply, and your entire loan could be forgiven. Fail to comply, and you could end up on the hook for repaying some—or all—of that […]

Published Date: May 15, 2020

3 Steps to Preserve Your PPE and Keep Your Practice Open

As you reopen, or ramp up the volume of patients you see, you must have a specific plan in place to continuously keep your patients and staff safe. Doing so hinges on your ability to maintain a sufficient supply of personal protective equipment (PPE), but due to the COVID-19 supply chain disruptions attaining this supplies […]

Published Date: May 14, 2020

Reduce Liability if Employee Tests Positive For COVID-19

QUESTION: During the COVID-19 shutdown, we continue to see patients in the office on a reduced schedule. Now, we are getting ready to bring back the majority of our staff and ramp up patient office visits. We are concerned that the increased interactions could result in an employee testing positive for coronavirus. Our small practice does […]

Published Date: May 13, 2020

20 Steps to Successfully Reopen Your Practice

In a few short months, COVID-19 has turned your practice day-to-day upside down – clinically, operationally and financially. At least now there is light at the end of the tunnel. Whether you closed your practice completely, or were working on an abbreviated schedule, the decisions you make over the next few weeks will have a […]

Published Date: May 8, 2020

Rebuild Wellness Visit Revenue During COVID-19

Providing routine patient care under COVID-19 restrictions has been a delicate balance. While following physical distancing and infection control safeguards, you also have to protect your bottom line. These three strategies will help your practice more successfully offer Medicare annual wellness visits (AWV) and preventive services in new ways to restore your finances and provide […]

Published Date: May 6, 2020

PECOS: Simple Solution Expedites Enrollment Process

QUESTION: I have been using my providers’ PECOS (Provider Enrollment, Chain and Ownership System) passwords and logins to update their Medicare and Medicaid enrollments. When I submit their information, the required signature at the end indicates that I am the practitioner, when I’m clearly not. Should we consider handling updating enrollments a different way? Question […]

Published Date: May 5, 2020