Urology Practice Management ™
process improvements to enhance patient care™
www.UroPracticeManagement.com
July 2013
Conducting an Operational Assessment By Sandra Paton
“Operations are everything in practice,” noted Jeffery Daigrepont, Senior Vice President of the Coker Group in Alpharetta, Georgia, at the American Urological Association annual practice meeting. He urged managers to have an analytic strat egy—specifically a dashboard—to allow for early intervention and data transfer without becoming what he called “a foren sic accountant.” An operational assess ment is a head-to-toe diagnostic review of your practice. The most difficult thing, he observed, is being objective about your practice. To help achieve objectivity, he recommended having other departments review each other and conduct internal as well as external reviews. Mr Daigrepont identified several areas requiring attention: revenue cycle, work flow, utilization of technology, physician satisfaction, and patient satisfaction. He cautioned practice managers to pay attention to the most important issues, Continued on page 8
Volume 2 • Number 2
Staying Independent—Exploring and Understanding the Options By William Robertson
S
ome say that being employed by a hospital is inevitable. While this may be true for cardiologists, it does not yet apply to urologists, according to Max Reiboldt, CPA, President of the Coker Group in Alpharetta, Georgia. At the American Urological Association annu al practice management meeting, Mr
Reiboldt led a session to illustrate options for urologists and offer strategies for making practice transitions. While medical care costs are escalating, reimbursements are being cut and greater access to care is being demanded, owing in part to the aging baby boom population. What we are facing, he noted, is all about changing paradigms. Continued on page 10
Billing and Coding Pitfalls for Urology Practice Managers By Sandra E. Cangiano
A
t the American Urological Asso ciation annual practice manage ment meeting, M. Ray Painter, MD, a practicing urologist with a strong interest in medical economic issues, and Rick Rutherford, MPE, CHA, Director of Practice Management for the American Urology Association, outlined what urol ogy practice managers need to know to prevent succumbing to billing and cod
ing pitfalls. They offered guidance based on Medicare standards for “incident to” services, “shared” services, office super vision requirements, time measurements for evaluation and management (E/M) coding, and red flags for auditing. “Incident to” Services If, after being seen by the physician who has developed a plan of care for Continued on page 8
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