PM News –January 10, 2006 #2,481 Editor-Barry Block, DPM, JD
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--QUESTIONS ABOUT BILLING, CODING OR REIMBURSEMENT?-------
Just send them to PM News by replying to this newsletter.
Your
questions will be forwarded to Codingline for responses
which will
then be posted on PM News. PM News subscribers are invited
to
explore Codingline (www.codingline.com), and register for
[Codingline-L], Codingline's free moderated listserv
focusing on
reimbursement and practice management issues: coding,
billing,
collections, appeals, and more. [Codingline-L] free
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discussion and more information about [Codingline-L], see
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this newsletter.
---------PODIATRISTS IN THE NEWS--------
VP Cheney May Have Gout: Pribut
U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, who has a history of heart
problems, was treated at a hospital on Monday for shortness
of
breath believed to have been triggered by his reaction to
medication
for a foot ailment, his office said.
A Washington podiatrist, DR. STEPHEN PRIBUT, said that based
on
Cheney's symptoms he might have gout but that quite often
foot
ailments like this are symptomatic of a mechanical problem
that can
be treated with shoe inserts called orthotics.
"The problem is the foot problem is harder to diagnose
than you
think," Pribut said. "I think people go into it
with preconceived
notions and don't check the entire joint from top to
bottom."
Source: Steve Holland, Reuters [1/9/06]
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----------- AT THE COLLEGES---------
OCPM to Move To Independence
After about 90 years in Cleveland, the Ohio College of
Podiatric
Medicine is moving to Independence. The foot-doctor school
-- which
holds classes and treats patients at its Carnegie Avenue
clinic --
is buying the old home office of Realty One at Interstates
77 and
480. The school will pay $11.75 million for the 13-acre
property and
expects to spend $8 million on expansion and renovations.
The
Cleveland Clinic will buy the school's seven-acre complex
along
Carnegie Avenue for expansion.
The podiatric school, with 300 students, wants to create a
campus
atmosphere and install high-tech classrooms in the suburb. A
move is
at least a year away. The school, known at first as the Ohio
College
of Chiropody, was founded in a Euclid Avenue building
downtown in
1916. It moved to Cornell Road near University Circle about
30 years
later. In 1976, the school moved to the Carnegie site.
Each move was prompted by expansion, said David Nicolanti,
the
school's executive vice president. The school was awarded a
$1.2
million federal grant and city-owned land to help build at
Carnegie.
The school may seek public financing to help with the
Independence
move, said Nicolanti.
Source: V. David Sartin, Cleveland Plain Dealer, [1/8/06]
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---------MEDICARE NEWS----------------
CMS Says It Will Apply Doc-Rate Freeze Retroactively
The CMS said as soon as Congress passes the fiscal 2006
budget,
expected in early February, it will tell Medicare
contractors to
reprocess claims filed since Jan. 1, when a 4.4% physician
rate cut
took effect, and retroactively freeze physician rates at
2005
levels. Physicians will receive a lump-sum payment in July
reflecting the difference. The budget includes a one-year
freeze on
physician rates, averting the 4.4% cut, but Congress failed
to pass
the bill before the end of 2005. Medicare contractors handle
some 20
million claims a week, and potentially 80 million claims may
need to
be reprocessed, the CMS said. As a result, the agency said,
it will
implement a phased-in reprocessing to be completed no later
than
July 1. The CMS also said it will give physicians another
chance to
sign up to accept Medicare patients for 2006, reopening the
physician enrollment period for 45 days after the bill
passes.
The CMS described its plans in a Jan. 6 letter to Sen. Chuck
Grassley (R-Iowa) and Reps. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) and Bill
Thomas (R-
Calif.). The change may increase copayments and deductibles
for
beneficiaries under Medigap and secondary insurers. The CMS
said it
will instruct contractors to forward adjusted claims to
insurers if
their contracts allow. Otherwise, physicians may need to
bill
insurers separately to obtain the balance due. –
Source: Matthew DoBias, Modern Healthcare [1/9/06]
-------- MEETING NOTICES/ COURSES --------------
The Spring 2006 Aesthetic Podiatry Symposium will take place
at the
Venetian Resort in Las Vegas, March 31-April 1, 2006.
Presented by the International Aesthetic Foot Society, these
courses
are approved for CME Category 1 credits.
Day 1 will feature lectures on Botox and fillers, Laser/IPL
leg vein
treatment and hair removal, skin resurfacing and tightening,
injection sclerotherapy, mesotherapy, and more. Day 2 will
feature
hands-on training and discussion of business models and
marketing
plans. Guest Speakers include Everett Lautin, MD, and
Suzanne
Levine, DPM, authors of The Botox Book and You Don't Need
Plastic
Surgery.
For more information and online registration, visit
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For a list of all meetings go to:
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--------- CODINGLINE CORNER --------------
Query: Patients Taking Photos
I was performing a matrixectomy on a patient in the office,
when he
pulled out his cell phone and started taking photographs. He
stated
his boss was "squeamish," and he wanted to show
them. I guess there
are no HIPAA issues since the patient himself is taking
them. Any
thoughts on how to handle this type of situation?
R. Alex Dellinger, DPM, Little Rock, AR
Codingline Response: This is a rather unique situation which
HIPAA
does not address, other than the fact that patients have a
right to
their protected health information (PHI). Arguably, a
patient has a
right to photograph his own foot.
While we know of several offices that have banned patients
from
making calls with their cell phones, this is the first
instance I
know of involving a patient using a cell phone as a camera.
If you feel uncomfortable about this situation, the best you
can
probably do is tell the patient that your office policy
prohibits
taking pictures in your office (and make sure you have added
to your
office policy this point). If the patient objects to your
policy,
consider yourself having put on notice - and you may or may
not
consider discharging the patient from your practice.
Naturally, you
would not want to abandon the patient.
Barry H. Block, DPM, JD, Forest Hills, NY
Additional responses are posted on http://www.codingline.com
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-----RESPONSES / COMMENTS------------
RE: FPMA to Fight Proposed Limitation of Scope of Practice
From: Daniel Chaskin, DPM
I am questioning if any current state antidiscrimination
statutes
exist that would prevent the reduction of the scope of
practice
within a particular state? How can a podiatrist who is
already
practicing in a state then tell his/her patients "I
cannot continue
to treat this condition I have been treating because the
state law
changed?" What about continuity of care for the
patient? How can the
scope of podiatry ever be reduced in any state?
Daniel Chaskin, DPM, Ridgewood, NY, podiatrist1 optonline.net
Editor's comment: We believe that as the education and
training of
podiatrists increases, so should the scope of practice.
Recently
orthopedists mounted a scope of practice attack in Texas and
lost
(pending an appeal). We are hopeful that FPMA will prevail.
------------
RE: Kinesio Tex (Dwight L. Bates, DPM)
For more info on this product See:
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Michael Z. Metzger, DPM, MBA, Innovative Healthcare
Resources
ihresourcescomcast.net
-----------CLASSIFIED ADS--------
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-------------
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------------
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-------------
ASSOCIATE POSITION – CONNECTICUT
Seeking Associate leading to partnership for a balanced
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