Polls
Loading ...Important Links!
Jul
8
Whew, we have finally gotten our ducks in a row and announce our Fall Pediatric Coding and PM conference in Columbus, OH on September 17. It’s the usual deal: AAP endorsed and AAP members get in cheaper. The individual class titles include:
- Free Online Practice Management Tools
- Coding Primer
- Give Me the Money: How to Decrease your A/R
- The Codes You Leave on the Table
- Pediatric Physicians’ Compensation Models
- Vaccine Coding: Preventive Medicine for a Healthy Bottom Line
- The No Surprises Chart Audit
Please check out the promotional site or register ASAP!
Sphere: Related ContentJul
7
Another Immunization-Vaccine Chart
July 7, 2008 | Leave a Comment
It’s been tough getting to the blog the last week or so. I’ve been busy getting ready for our Pediatric Practice Management Conference in August (why aren’t you signed up?!) and will announce later this week a new AAP-endorsed event in Columbus, OH on September 17 (save the date!) and a teleconference series sponsored by Physicians’ Alliance to begin in August.
Worse, I had a very vivid dream this morning that I’d already written this entry, so it was tough to motivate out of bed.
Here is some good content for you, though. First, a while back, I put together an “Immunization Chart” or “Vaccine Chart” (I don’t know what else to call it). Then, I found out - thanks Siouxsie - that the AAP puts out something very, very similar. We include the disease associated with each vaccine, theirs might be better laid out. Click on the image below for a PDF version.
Originally, I had planned to update ours with the CDC pricing info, but I want to get some sense about whether I should use my original chart, the AAP’s, or somehow combine them all together. Eyeball this and tell me what you think. In the meantime, you can get the latest CDC pricing info here.
More, perhaps even later today, about our new conferences!.
Sphere: Related ContentJun
29
E&M Cheat Sheet Update!
June 29, 2008 | 1 Comment
Well, I had no choice. V2.0 is up here (OpenOffice version), here (M$ Word), and here (PDF version). Thanks to those who helped, including a few who wrote me off line and Q, who helped edit the new version.
Sphere: Related ContentJun
26
E&M Coding “Cheat Sheet”
June 26, 2008 | 4 Comments
I almost forgot about this, but Igor mentioned that a client asked for it, so here we are.
I got the original idea from a couple sources, including the GA AAP and Island Coast Pediatrics a long time ago and posted their samples on PCC. The concept is to create a little E&M cheat sheet for the docs to carry around in their pockets (perhaps even laminated) to help improve E&M coding. I’ve always encouraged our clients to put them, instead, on each encounter form or perhaps on the chart template. After hand-making these about a dozen times, here are some good samples for your own practice. This is a draft - let me know if you see any mistakes!
The format is simple: 8 inches wide, 1 inch high (I also made one that’s 4″x1″). I have one with color, one with different fonts. You can definitely make it smaller. I have included an OpenOffice version, Word Version, and PDF.
If someone wants a different layout, content, etc., let me know. [Yes, I know it's misspelled, I was enjoying myself.]
UPDATE: There is a new version here.
Jun
25
Cory Doctorow’s Essay on Rare Events
June 25, 2008 | Leave a Comment
I was following links from someone’s Twitter account of the seminar I’m attending and fell into this essay:
The single most pernicious threat to liberty today is humanity’s natural tendency to misunderstand the statistics of rare events. We’re just not wired to have good intuition about things that happen with extreme infrequency.
A great, fast read that I find applicable to a subject that I have no dared return to recently, childhood immunizations. Cory Doctorow is well known in on-line nerd circles (iirc, he released some fiction works in open source). Thanks to Trevor over at dealerdiagnostics.com.
Sphere: Related ContentJun
25
Catch Up and Dashboards
June 25, 2008 | Leave a Comment
I have been a little remiss in my blog duties lately - “work” intervenes. As I type, I am attending a class on dashboard design with Igor. We’ve been fascinated by what we have learned during our development of our PCC dashboards - if you want to check out a sample, go for it (name: demo, password: pccsales). This is a shot of our new Pediatric Financial Pulse while we work on the clinical one.
After some discussion, Igor and I have agreed that we could make a cool spreadsheet tool for non-PCC customers to calculate their own Financial Pulses. Although you would have to calculate a number of the figures yourself, and we can’t do all of the measurements, it would still include all kinds of PCC’s magic pediatric benchmarks, etc. And the price would be right. We’ll see how that goes, I have to get started on it.
New topic - phreesia.com. It came up on the SOAPM list. The concept is interesting enough, but we have the constant challenge of things like this:
Phreesia’s educational content is derived from two separate sources:
We have sponsored content provided by some of the most prominent companies in the health care industry.
I certainly don’t blame Phreesia (someone has to pay the bills!), so I’m curious to hear from anyone out there who is using them. Cool? Not cool? Comments are anonymous if you wish, but you can always write me directly.
Sphere: Related ContentJun
20
Quick Insurance Termination Letter Samples
June 20, 2008 | 2 Comments
After the third request for these this week, I figured I’d post them to the blog. They’re text instead of PDF for easy cut-n-paste action, imagine that. The supposition here is that this is to an insurance company you really don’t want to get rid of if they’d only treat you properly. And these are sent as far in advance of your termination as possible.
Letter #1 - To the Patients
Fred and Wilma Flintstone
1 Main Street
Bedrock, NJ 05696Our files indicate that your family has health insurance coverage through Bedrock Health Insurance. Regretfully, we have terminated our contract with this insurance company effective July 1, 2008. We will continue to be contracted with HealthCare Insurance, BCBS, and Tourists HMOs.
[If you want to explain why, it goes here.]
We have chosen to notify our patients’ families to ensure that you are able to effect necessary changes. Notices from your insurance company can often be difficult to understand, so please call our billing department at 802-846-8177 us if you need assistance. We will be happy to answer any questions you may have. You may also wish to contact Bedrock direct at 800-456-789 or customerservice@americare.com. [Insert other direct contact information here.]Of course, we will gladly continue to be your family’s pediatricians unless you choose to transfer to another provider. However we will no longer be able to submit claims to Bedrock on your behalf. There may be options for you to change plans as some employers have several plans for you to choose from. Another option may be to submit your paid receipt for for reimbursement by Bedrock; we will be happy to help
We hope to continue as your children’s pediatricians and we will endeavor to make all efforts to assist you in receiving uninterrupted care. Please do not hesitate to call us with any questions or concerns.
Pediatric Associates[use the names of the docs, not just the practice name]
Letter #2 - To the Employers
Betty Rubble
Human Resources
Acme Gravel
Bedrock, NJDear Ms. Rubble:
During the past 2 months, our practice has been in negotiation with Bedrock Health Insurance over matters related to their lack of appropriate reimbursement and high administrative costs. Unfortunately, these negotiations appear to be at an impasse and we have terminated our contract effective June 1, 2008.
Our records indicate that we provide important pediatric care for over 60 children whose parents are employed or otherwise contract their insurance through your company.
We are contacting Acme Gravel for two reasons. First, we would like you to be aware that Bedrock does not represent a wise partner, at least for a practice such as ours, and we believe that feedback is important to organizations choosing health insurance solutions for their employees. Second, should our negotiations fail, we do not wish to surprise you or your employees whose children we see with the news that we are dropping Bedrock.
Although we will make every reasonable effort to transition those families who would switch pediatric coverage to another practice, be assured that the disruption to you and your employees may be significant.
Please contact us at any time if you have any questions or concerns.
[this should definitely be signed by the physician who treats the most kids for this company]
Share and Enjoy.
Sphere: Related ContentJun
20
The Bottom of the Totem Pole
June 20, 2008 | Leave a Comment
We all knew this already. Here’s another study showing Pediatricians a distant last in the income category. It’s Fierce HealthCare’s take on a WSJ Blog.
If you really want to make the bucks, primary care isn’t the way to go. That fact was underscored this week by a study from staffing firm Merritt Hawkins & Associates, which noted that while internist pay topped out at $176,000 annually, and family practice doctors at $172,000, nurse anesthetists recruited by the firm were making average salaries of $185,000. (Anesthesiologists averaged $336,000 per year.) Other Merritt Hawkins high earners included cardiologists, averaging $392,000 per year, radiologists, at $401,000 and gastroenterologists, at $379,000. Pediatricians, in contrast, were pulling down a relatively modest $159,000.
I suspect that if you were to find the median salary for pediatricians, it would be even lower. Queue deep sigh, now.
Sphere: Related ContentJun
17
The AMA’s “Cure For Claims” (Wow!)
June 17, 2008 | Leave a Comment
I don’t know how I missed this announcement (thanks, Bob @ PhysAll), but the AMA has embarked on an advocacy campaign specifically targeting the baloney that goes on during the insurance claim submission process. Now this is the kind of work I want to see the AMA doing (instead of restricting the rights of its members and public to use CPT codes and RVUs).
First, check out the home site here. People who like to skip the instruction manual and jump right in, should read the amazing payor report card! I have only two gripes (limited list of payors, small sample size), but their chosen metrics really look great. Did you know that in the 134K payments from UHC analyzed in Feb/Mar in this report, UHC only allowed the proper amount…61.55% of the time? Amazing data.
The AMA also includes an appeal toolkit and pretty good “interactive document” (my favorite part) designed to help you appeal your claims. Though I’m not usually the AMA’s biggest fan, this is an excellent start. Good work by them. Between this report card and the one from the Verden Group, you should have plenty of fun at your next insurance sit-down.
Sphere: Related ContentJun
16
Quick (Aetna, SOAPM)
June 16, 2008 | Leave a Comment
I’m busy writing another piece for the SOAPM newsletter and it’s really taking up my time. I’m truly honored to be given the opportunity to provide them comment but, whew, it takes a lot of work. That is, it’s one thing to ramble on in a blog (this is a good example), but it’s a different thing entirely to actually construct a 500-1000 word piece that really needs to be articulate, concise, and compelling. It’s certainly a good exercise.
Oh, back to the topic: I know three different offices in different states in the northeast who have recently renegotiated their Aetna contracts with considerable success. It’s enough of a convergence that I find it worth mentioning - perhaps it’s a good time to give your rep a call. Aetna is on the upswing, take advantage. Negotiating now? Push harder. Considering a conversation? Do it now.
Sphere: Related Content