News from the AOA's Blog

By Walt Whitley, O.D., Jason Miller, O.D., and Charles Brownlow, O.D., AOAExcel™ medical & records consultants

This has been quite a busy year addressing numerous coding and billing questions from colleagues across the county. Questions about 2013 Medicare updates, Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS), and the impact of sequestration are all real concerns for our profession. The good news is the AOA and AOAExcel™ are staying ahead of the game to provide and educate you on how these issues affect your practices and your patients. You should never feel you are on an island if you have questions! The AOA and state affiliates are available to provide numerous resources and timely updates as they become available. Read the rest of this entry ?

Edited by Jason Miller, O.D., AOAExcel™ medical records and coding consultant

With the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) looking to recover a large amount of cash from medical record audits, physicians need to take a proactive approach to improving record-keeping. With many optometrists transitioning to electronic health records (EHRs) in the past few years and many others looking to convert in the near future, it is important to take a step back and take a good look at the logic of medical records. Knowledge is power, and we encourage doctors and staff to look inside your medical records in 2013 to evaluate how your practice will stand up to a payer audit. Read the rest of this entry ?

ICD-10 doesn’t go into effect until Oct. 1, 2014, which makes 2013 a very good time to become acquainted with the new system and to begin thinking about what you will need to do to ensure all doctors and staff are ready when the deadline arrives. Read the rest of this entry ?

Edited by Chuck Brownlow, O.D., Medical Records consultant, AOAExcel

There seems to be an abundance of people around health care calling themselves “experts” or who are referred to by others as “experts.” Read the rest of this entry ?

The ICD-10 implementation deadline, Oct. 1, 2014, is a long way away. It’s still a good time to begin planning for the changes though. Read the rest of this entry ?

Other references currently in force

Although practitioners still have 20 months to prepare, it is important to accept the reality that ICD-9 will be replaced by ICD-10 and that the Oct. 1, 2014, deadline will not be extended. Read the rest of this entry ?

Edited by Jason Miller, O.D., Walt Whitley, O.D., and Chuck Brownlow, O.D., Medical Records consultants, AOAExcel

The silver lining—CMS EHR incentive program

The press has reported information related to a silver lining for Medicare providers, including many optometrists. Through November 2012, optometrists received nearly $57 million from the federal government as a result of their participation in the Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive program. This represents the successful registration and attestation of more than 3,600 individual optometrists. Most striking is the realization that almost $5 million in EHR incentives were paid to optometrists in the month of November 2012. Read the rest of this entry ?

By Charles B. Brownlow, O.D., AOAExcel medical records consultant

ICD-10 will replace ICD-9 on Oct. 1, 2014. That is still nearly two years away, so it is important to be curious about the new system while not worrying or spending a lot of time or money on early preparation. Read the rest of this entry ?

By Charles B. Brownlow, O.D., AOAExcel medical records consultant

2013 promises to be a very active year for Medicare and other insurers’ audits of providers’ medical records and claims. Read the rest of this entry ?

Edited by Chuck Brownlow, O.D., Medical Records consultant, AOAExcel

Medicare Audits

Medicare carriers continue their quest to identify physicians and suppliers who are providing and charging for unnecessary or inappropriate services as well as those who are coding incorrectly. Read the rest of this entry ?