Practice Management

People who pay more of their own costs up front... make choices based on cost as well as quality.

Atlanta-The population of patients being treated with a penile prosthesis for erectile dysfunction is evolving, with the average patient now being older and having more medical comorbidities compared with less than 20 years ago, according to the results of a nationwide epidemiologic study reported at the annual AUA meeting here.

The population of patients being treated with a penile prosthesisfor erectile dysfunction is evolving, with the average patient nowbeing older and having more medical comorbidities compared withless than 20 years ago, according to the results of a nationwideepidemiologic study reported by University of Michigan urologists.

AUA has established the Department of Reimbursement and RegulatoryAffairs to more effectively target resources and advocacy effortsfor its members. Nancy K. Edwards, currently AUA reimbursementsystems project manager, will become its director.

As all practicing urologists know, shrinking reimbursement forurologic services has become the norm. But current market forcesactually favor the specialty, and urologists can take control oftheir financial future - as long as they are willing to takea handful of forward-thinking steps.

In 2007, physicians will face another cut in Medicare payment ifCongress fails to act.

Washington-Seventy urologists came to the nation's capitalearly this spring seeking to let the policymakers in Congress andthe administration know just how their decisions affect thedelivery of health care in communities across the nation.

Payers have specific forms, phone numbers, and/or addresses thatmust be used for appeals

The plaintiff's attorney has a professional and ethical obligation to represent his or her client with their best interest to the fullest extent of the law.

Your financial policy should represent your practice's philosophy and collection goals.

Washington--When 2006 began, there was somewhat of a mess in Washington involving Medicare reimbursement, and that was especially true for urologists. At press time, some of those issues were being resolved, but, even so, there will likely be fallout that will at least inconvenience urologists and their staffs.

The plaintiff's attorney has a professional and ethical obligation to represent his or her client with their best interest to the fullest extent of the law.

How do I charge for a patient sent from a nursing home for a consult who, upon evaluation, required a cystoscopy?

A statement in a recent "Coding Q&A" article discussing codes 52005 and 52332 was incorrect (Urology Times, January 2006, page 26).

I will leave the reimbursement issues to the expert, Ray Painter, MD, but I would like to focus on overhead and practice efficiency.

Ray Painter, MD As we move into the new year, urologists face three major issues affecting reimbursement: the need for improved data, a change in the Competitive Acquisition Program (CAP), and the inclusion of Medicare Part A in the average sales price/least costly alternative (ASP/LCA) payment process for Part B drugs.

Current AACU President Peter C. Albertsen, MD, discusses the role of AACU?s recently formed State Society Network, the upcoming AACU-AUA Joint Advocacy Conference in Washington, recent lobbying successes, and ongoing legislative issues.

Laserscope, San Jose, CA, has announced that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has published a technical revision to the 2006 Medicare physician few schedule.

Every practice is struggling to increase reimbursement and decrease overhead costs. You don't need an MBA to figure out that these two approaches are the easiest methods of increasing your net income.

If you perform a diagnostic retrograde (52005) and the insertion of a stent (52332) at the same setting, each should be billed separately.

Washington--The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has every intention of moving forward with a new pay for performance system for reimbursing physicians for their services to Medicare patients, eventually ditching the current payment scheme. But it needs help from Congress to make it happen.

Q. As a solo practitioner, must I employ an answering service to take calls when the office is closed? Would an answering machine that directs calls to my pager or cell phone be sufficient?

The American Medical Association has assigned a new CPT code, 50592, for percutaneous radiofrequency ablation of renal tumors.

Changes in coding and reimbursement are on tap for 2006, some of which are known and some of which are uncertain.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has released an evaluation version of VistA-Office Electronic Health Record, an adaptation of the Veterans Health Administration electronic health record, for private physician offices.