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January 2012- Vol 12, Issue 1
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| Need a Speaker? | |
Let Coker Group speak at your upcoming event!
For more information on the educational programs Coker can facilitate, please email us or call 678-280-9690. |
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Coker Announces its Partnership with National Rural Health Association (NRHA) | |
 Coker Group is excited to announce its recent partnering relationship with the National Rural Health Association (NRHA) whose mission is to provide leadership on rural issues through advocacy, communications, education, and research. For more information about NRHA, please visit www.ruralhealthweb.org.
Is your hospital an NRHA member? If so, contact Craig Hunter at chunter@cokergroup.com or (678) 832-2002 to learn about how you can benefit from this partnership! |
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Practice Changes for 2012 - Part 1
By: Deborah Hill, MBA, CMPE, CPC, CHC | |
Every January, we take inventory of all the changes and updates that affect revenue, operations, and quality in physician practices. These changes impact how we manage our patients, physicians, and staff. We begin sketching out our "to do list" of items we need to review and then prioritize that list according to their potential impact. The January and February editions of CokerConnection will highlight a couple of these matters as a reminder of areas that your practice may need to address. This month, we will discuss:
- 2012 CPT-IV Coding - E/M Services
- Medicare Changes for 2012 - Preventive Services
2012 CPT-IV Coding - E/M Services
With 500+ code changes, coders and billing offices are working diligently to update billing forms and processes to optimize revenue and ensure billing compliance. One of the most significant changes is found in the E/M guidelines. This year, the definition of a New Patient is changed to
"a new patient has not received any professional services from the same physician or another physician of the exact same specialty or sub-specialty who belongs to the same group, within the past 3 years."
This change will significantly impact the billing of new patient visits, especially in multi-specialty practices that may have had problems with internal referrals for sub-specialty services. Additionally, "professional services" is defined as "any 'face-to-face' services rendered and reported by a specific CPT code."
Another change in the E/M guidelines is the addition of reference times in the Initial Observation Care codes (99218, 99219, and 99220), which will allow physicians to use time as a key component when counseling or coordination of care takes more than 50% of the total encounter time for Initial Observation Care services.
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Customer Service... An Important Key to Satisfied Patients
By: Sue Hertlein | |
Are you concerned about why some of your patients have not returned to your office for care? Do you see your revenue decreasing? Do you have to increase your new patient base to cover fixed expenses?
When dealing with their patients, physicians typically do not think about "customer service." After all, their job is to deliver top quality health care in a timely fashion. Customer service is what you receive (or should receive) at a department store, automotive service center, or restaurant, but not in a doctor's office, right? Wrong!
Many practices have suffered patient losses due to poor customer service at their front desk or from the billing/insurance staff. This is a larger concern for family practices or gynecology offices that rely largely on returning patients and referrals from their existing patients. As in most businesses, the cost of bringing in a new patient (customer) incrementally costs more than providing care for an existing one. Maintaining patients is critical to the financial success of your business. Put this into perspective by visualizing this image...click here to read the full article. |
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Coffee with Coker - a FREE monthly webinar! | |
 Join Us in February!
Date: Friday, February 10, 2012
Time: 11:30 a.m. EST
Squeaky Wheels Get the Grease in Contract Negotiations!
When buying a car, do you take the first offer as the final? Most people would never stop negotiating until they got the best deal possible - neither should your practice. It is not uncommon for managed care contracts to be taken for granted; however, they need regular attention to ensure you get what you deserve. Knowing your costs, practice statistics, and reimbursement history are key factors in successful negotiations. This session will review best practices in contract negotiations, examine and understand the prep work that will be required before beginning, and introduce you to who you are negotiating with. It will teach you to recognize signs of deal killers and tie breakers and walk you through a 23-point due diligence checklist for a successful outcome.
Knowledge Nuggets:
- Learn successful negotiation tips and know when to walk away
- Gain confidence to influence acceptable reimbursement
- Review 23-point due diligence checklist to ensure you get what you deserve
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About Coker Group
Coker Group, a leader in healthcare consulting, helps physicians, hospitals, and other providers find answers and solve problems in management and business operations. Our consulting team members are proficient, trustworthy professionals with experience and strengths in various areas. Coker's staff includes seasoned individuals in finance, administration, management, operations, compliance, and information systems. Coker integrity is unquestionable.
The CokerConnection© 2012 is an electronic newsletter published monthly by Coker Group, copyedited by Kay Stanley and compiled for the internet by Trish Hutcherson. The articles and viewpoints presented in the CokerConnection© are for informational purposes only and not intended to constitute legal or financial advice. If legal, financial, or other professional advice is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. |
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