Current Coding Tip
Beware the Tender Trap: EHR Auto Populating Fields
The keys to providing excellent health care are the same, whether you are using paper or electronic records. First you determine why the patient is in the office and then you customize your case history and physical examination to match those needs. The questions you ask and the tests you do and what you record in the patient’s file for the day are all related to the reason for visit. Some electronic records provide the opportunity to mark lots of fields automatically, possibly filling all of fields in the history and examination before the patient arrives in the office, based on data from a previous visit. Convenient? Sure. Problematic? Maybe. The best way to enter data in a patient’s record is as it is being gathered…Not before and not after, to be sure that nothing is left out and that no fields include information on questions that were not asked or on tests that were not done at the visit.
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Important Information on the Medicare Requirement for Timely Claims Filing
All 2009 Claims Must Be Filed by December 31, 2010! One Year Limit!
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) would like to remind Medicare Fee-For-Service physicians, providers and suppliers submitting claims to Medicare for payment, as a result of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), effective immediately, all claims for services furnished on or after Jan 1, 2010, must be filed with your Medicare contractor no later than one calendar year (12 months) from the date of service – or Medicare will deny them. If you have Medicare Fee-For-Service claims with service dates from January 1, 2009, through Dec 31, 2009, those claims MUST be filed by Dec 31, 2010, or Medicare will deny them.
In general, the start date for determining the 1-year timely filing period is the date of service or “From” date on the claim.
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Free Coding Webinars
AOA’s staff and volunteers handle thousands of questions from members each month, with many of the questions related to medical records, coding, insurance contracts, Medicare and other third party issues. In an effort to educate members on increasing billing efficiency, AOA is launching a Billing & Coding Webinar Series.
View upcoming and recorded Billing and Coding Webinars