Practice Management Reference Guide First Edition

Effectively manage the business side of medicine. Profit margin, collections, cash flow, compliance, human resources, health information, efficient business processes—the broad responsibilities and complex requirements of practice management are endless. Drop one ball in the daily juggle and the fallout can be costly. There’s never enough time, which makes it tough to stay on top of regulations and best practices. That’s where AAPC’s Practice Management Reference Guide becomes vital to your organization, providing you with one-stop access to the latest and best in practice management. From office operations to financial oversight, the Practice Management Reference Guide lays out essential guidance to help you optimize efficiency, security, and profitability. Benefit from actionable steps to streamline accounts receivable. Discover how to bring in new patients and keep the ones you have happy. Leverage real-world strategies to command payer relations, recruitment, training, employee evaluations, HIPAA, MACRA, Medicare, CDI, EHR … everything you need to ensure bountiful operations in 2020 and beyond. With the Practice Management Reference Guide, you’ll gain working knowledge covering the spectrum of practice management issues, including: Negotiating favorable payer contracts Preventing an appeals backlog Remaining audit-ready Correctly applying incident-to billing rules to maximize reimbursement Using assessment tools to evaluate your risk Preparing a risk plan and know what questions to ask Knowing how and why you should implement policies and protocols Complying with state and federal patient privacy rules

Recoup lost time and revenue with denials management and appeals know-how. Claim denials can sink a profit margin. And given the cost of appeals, roughly $118 per claim, not all denials can be reworked. A practice submitting 50 claims a day at an average reimbursement rate of $200 per claim should bring in $10,000 in daily revenue. But if 10% of those claims are denied, and the practice can only appeal one, they lose $800 per day—upwards of $200K annually. Your medical claims are the lifeblood of operations. Don’t compromise your financial health. Learn how to preempt denials with the Denials Management & Appeals Reference Guide. This vital resource will equip you to get ahead of payers by simplifying the leading causes of denials and showing you how to address insufficient documentation, failing to establish medical necessity, coding and billing errors, coverage stipulations, and untimely filing. Rely on AAPC to walk you through the appeal process. We’ll help you establish protocols to avoid an appeals backlog and teach you how to identify and prioritize denials likely to win an appeal. What’s more, you’ll learn when a claim can be “reopened” to fix a problem. Collect the revenue your practice deserves with effective denials and appeals solutions: Know how to analyze your denials Defeat documentation and compliance issues for successful claims success Utilize payer policy for coverage clues Lock in revenue with face-to-face reimbursement guidance Refine efforts to avoid E/M claim denials Ace ICD-10 coding for optimum reimbursement Put an end to modifier confusion Stave off denials with CCI edits advice Navigate the appeals process like a pro And much more!

This practice manager study guide is tailored to those with previous knowledge in the field of practice management and who are looking for an independent, self-paced review of the concepts that will be required to pass the CPPM® Exam. - Complete CPPM® Study Guide printed and spiral-bound manual - 14 chapters covering all CPPM® exam categories - 140 review questions (printed and spiral bound) Topics covered included the following: - Health Care Business Processes & Workflow - Health Care Reform - Fraud & Abuse and Corporate Compliance - Quality in Health Care - Medical Office Accounting - Principles of Physician Reimbursement - Health Care Revenue Cycle Management - Human Resource Management - Marketing and Business Relationships - Space Planning and Operational Flows - HIPAA & Patient Data Security - Electronic Health Record - Health Information Exchange - Modern Health IT & Interoperability - Business Continuity

Defeat the challenges that threaten your E/M claims and compliance success. Evaluation and management (E/M) services are the lifeblood of your revenue stream, and yet they’re the most problematic to report. Claim denials remain high. E/M coding errors, in fact, rose from 11.9% in 2018 to account for 12.8% of CMS’s overall 2019 improper payment rate. How much E/M revenue are you losing? Safeguard your organization from claim denials and audit scrutiny with the Evaluation & Management Coding Reference Guide. Our experts break down E/M coding rules and requirements into simple, manageable steps written in everyday language to boost your E/M reporting skills. Learn how to capture the key components of medical history, physical exam, and medical decision-making—and capitalize on real-world clinical scenarios to prevent over- or under-coding. The Evaluation & Management Coding Reference Guide will help you prep for 2021 E/M guideline changes overhauling new and established office and outpatient services, and walk you through online digital E/M services, remote physiologic monitoring, and more. Master the ins and outs of E/M coding—CPT® guidelines, level of service, modifiers, regulations, and documentation guidelines. Put an end to avoidable denials and optimize your E/M claims for full and prompt reimbursement. Benefit from expert tutorials covering the spectrum of E/M reporting concepts and challenges: Prep for 2021 guideline changes and their impact on your organization Master the ins and outs of E/M guidelines in CPT® Capture the seven components of E/M services Sort out medical decision-making coding Avoid the pitfalls of time-based coding Nail down specifics for critical care E/M services Clear up modifier confusion Understand NPPs rules for same-day E/M services Take the guesswork out of complexity determinations Get the details on coding surgery and E/M together Learn the principles of E/M documentation

Is your HIPAA compliance program and breach reporting up to date? Over 94% of providers have experienced some form of data breach, and over 50% have had 5 or more data breaches. From phishing campaigns and PHI-containing emails sent to the wrong recipients to unencrypted devices and servers left publicly accessible, the total number of breaches in 2019 outnumbered the previous year by more than 33%, according to research from Risk Based Security. Get comprehensive guidance to implement HIPAA protocols and prevent the fallout of a data breach with AAPC’s HIPAA Reference Guide. Our nationally recognized HIPAA compliance experts lay out best practices and build on case studies to guide you through the dos and don’ts of compliance. We show you how to recognize and lock down your risk areas, including how to: Build and maintain a culture of security Evaluate your vulnerabilities and guard against cyber threats Assess, analyze, and manage your EHR Immunize your workstations Implement HIPAA-compliant use of mobile devices Ensure your BAAs are HIPAA compliant Prepare for community-wide disasters Plot out your practice’s security incident response plan

It's not the quantity of clinical documentation that matters—it's the quality. Is your clinical documentation improvement (CDI) program identifying your outliers? Does your documentation capture the level of ICD-10 coding specificity required to achieve optimal reimbursement? Are you clear on how to fix your coding and documentation shortfalls? Providing the most complete and accurate coding of diagnoses and site-specific procedures will vastly improve your practice’s bottom line. Get the help you need with the Clinical Documentation Reference Guide. This start-to-finish CDI primer covers medical necessity, joint/shared visits, incident-to billing, preventative care visits, the global surgical package, complications and comorbidities, and CDI for EMRs. Learn the all-important steps to ensure your records capture what your physicians perform during each encounter. Benefit from methods to effectively communicate CDI concerns and protocols to your providers. Leverage the practical and effective guidance in AAPC’s Clinical Documentation Reference Guide to triumph over your toughest documentation challenges. Prevent documentation deficiencies and keep your claims on track for optimal reimbursement: Understand the legal aspects of documentation Anticipate and avoid documentation trouble spots Keep compliance issues at bay Learn proactive measures to eliminate documentation problems Work the coding mantra—specificity, specificity, specificity Avoid common documentation errors identified by CERT and RACs Know the facts about EMR templates—and the pitfalls of auto-populate features Master documentation in the EMR with guidelines and tips Conquer CDI time-based coding for E/M The Clinical Documentation Reference Guide is approved for use during the CDEO® certification exam.

The book describes the steps to opening day of a medical office practice. First, the basics, such as financing, rent, coding, hiring, contracting, records, malpractice insurance. Then, business strategies and more complex issues, such as money management and the influence of outside factors. A chapter deals with typical business encounters for the private practitioner. Finally buying a practice, health care reform and more.

Ensure full pay for services provided by your nurse practitioners, physician assistants, clinical nurse specialists, and other mid-level clinicians. Staffing nonphysician practitioners (NPPs) enables your practice to see more patients, but the revenue benefits depend on your team’s ability to navigate the complex set of NPP coding and billing rules. Do you know the guidelines that Medicare and other payers apply toward reimbursement of NPP services? Are you clear on the rules for direct supervision? How about reciprocity? If you’re like most, you have more questions than answers. Getting incident-to billing right means 15% more in reimbursement. Getting it wrong could be considered fraudulent. With stakes this high, you need the Nonphysician Practitioner Reference Guide. This comprehensive resource provides expert guidance covering the scope of NPP coding and billing regulations. Understand the distinctions between shared visit and incident-to services and meet the troublesome requirements of audit-ready incident-to billing. Packed with authoritative tips, readers’ Q&A, and handy clip-and-save tools—including an incident-to audit checklist—you’ll master the reporting nuances of E/M services, prolonged services, virtual visits, and more. Shore up revenue for your mid-level practitioners with: Tips for accurate dual-provider coding Max out incident-to pay the right way and earn 100% of allowable revenue versus 85% Rely on split/shared visit coding in non-office settings Know how to avoid substitute physician billing challenges Boost your signature know-how and avoid claim denials Watch incident-to claims when physician is out of office Get the facts on performing consults Learn the secret NPP guidelines for coding virtual visits Do you know the reciprocity rules when your physician leaves town? And much more! Clear up your NPP compliance confusion—and know exactly when you can bill service incidents to the physician—with the Nonphysician Practitioner Reference Guide.