What's New from PDS

To optimize financial performance by combining personal integrity, innovative technology, and practical experience for the benefit of our valued physician clients.

New "Cash for Clients" Program

Inspired by the recent success of the U.S. Government's "Cash for Clunkers" Program, PDS has introduced its own stimulus plan for our physician clients. Do you know a friend or colleague with a broken-down billing system, an inefficient biller, or a cash-guzzling billing service? Refer them to PDS and if they become a billing client of ours, we'll credit your account $500 for each one you send our way! That's like getting 167 gallons of gas for free!

Are you being paid correctly?

Most PDS clients have a drawer or box somewhere in their office filled with insurance contracts they've entered into over the years. Some of these contracts have reimbursement rates that adjust each year, while others have a fixed rate that may have been set years ago. Many refer to the payer's own "usual and customary fee schedule" but offer no specific payment amounts for the procedures performed most often by the practice. As a result, it's virtually impossible to confirm that you're being paid according to your particular contract.

To solve this problem, we recommend sending a list of your top 20 procedures to your top 10 payers requesting the current allowable amounts for each CPT code. These rates can then be compared to the current Medicare Fee Schedule to see how each contract compares overall to Medicare. By loading these allowable amounts into our billing system, PDS can then verify that each plan is paying you the amount they're supposed to on each and every EOB.

If this sounds like something you need to do, please contact PDS for the CPT and payer reports, survey template, and sample request letter you'll need. If you need any additional assistance with this project, please let us know how we can help!

Online Patient Pre-Registration is Here!

In most practices today, new patients are handed a clipboard upon arrival and asked to read, complete, and sign a multitude of forms including patient registration, health history, financial policy, privacy policy, etc. This typically takes 15-30 minutes or more, perhaps even longer for the elderly or disabled. Patients routinely rush through the process, often leading to problems with accuracy and legibility.

PDS is always searching for new and innovative solutions that enhance practice efficiency. Our search for an answer to the problem of incomplete, inaccurate, and/or illegible patient registration forms led us to San Diego-based VisionTree and their VTOC web-based patient portal. Their Optimal Care software allows patients to pre-register with your practice online, completing all required forms from the comfort and convenience of their own home or office. Insurance eligibility can even be confirmed in advance of the patient's scheduled appointment.

But the VTOC software can do so much more. It provides secure, 2-way communication between patient and practice for medical questions, test results, refill requests, and appointment reminders. Patients can update their demographic information and medication list, review treatment reminders, access educational media, and view information about the practice and its providers. The web site even includes a "To Do List" to remind each patient of what tasks need to be completed before their next visit.

We're very enthusiastic about the potential of VisionTree's patient portal software and the positive impact it can have on your practice. Call us today to arrange for a free web demonstration of this incredible program!

Updated Superbills Prevent Claim Denials

At about this time each year, new ICD-9 and CPT codes are introduced that will soon be required on all paper and electronic claim forms. For most insurance carriers, the new ICD-9 codes become effective October 1 and the new CPT codes become effective January 1. The one notable exception is Medi-Cal who each year seems to choose a different date for when the new codes will become effective in their system.

Following the annual introduction of new codes, we see an increase in the number of rejected or improperly paid claims due to the coding changes. 2009 was particularly problematic for cardiology practices when the definition of the widely-used CPT code 93307 (echo procedure) was changed and its value was reduced with the introduction of the new 93306 echo code.

PDS will send detailed information regarding the new codes to our clients as it becomes available. Please review your superbill and other charge documents to see if any charge or diagnosis codes you now use have been changed or deleted. If necessary, please 1) remove any deleted codes, 2) update any existing codes and/or descriptions that may have changed, and 3) add any new codes you may need. If PDS prepared your superbill, please make any corrections needed on a blank superbill, then forward it to our office so we can update it for you.

At PDS, we're focusing more than ever on eliminating preventable claim denials whenever possible. We pledge to provide you with timely coding information and appreciate your ongoing efforts to keep your billing documents up-to-date. Thank you!

Dear Valued Client,

We hope you'll find this electronic newsletter to be informative, quick, and convenient. If you do, please feel free to share it with a friend or colleague by clicking on the Forward email link below.

Got a question, concern, compliment, or criticism you'd like to share? We want to hear from you! Please call Chris at (619) 757-2200 or send an email to feedback@pdsmedical.com to share your thoughts and suggestions. Thank you!

Sincerely,

Chris Burns, President

chris@pdsmedical.com

(619) 757-2200 x102