Closest Appropriate? Explaining Destinations in the PCR Closest Appropriate Facility In the ambulance billing world, this 3-word phrase is discussed more than you’d realize- Closest Appropriate Facility. There are rules that differ in many cases between insurance payers, most notably between Medicare and Medicaid and even some commercial insurance payers regarding payment for transport miles […]
Sharpening Documentation Skills Using Hands-On Training How will they learn? The Apostle Paul wrote a letter to the early church in Rome to encourage the early first-century believers to actively share their faith with others. He used a series of questions to make his point. “But how can they call on him to save them […]
ICD-10- How Will It Change EMS Documentation? Part II Welcome to Part II of our two-part series! Last week we talked about the overall changes that ICD-10 will usher in come October 1st and we focused on the detail and specifics needed in Patient Care Reports in order to provide enough information for your billing […]
ICD-10- How will it change EMS Documentation? 117 Days and Counting! Change is coming. Today is exactly 117 days away from the October 1st implementation of the ICD-10 diagnosis codes. ICD stands for the International Classification of Diseases. Today, our industry uses Version 9 of the code set to report conditions when we submit claims for […]
Sign-In Please! “Will the next mystery guest sign-in please?” Back in the sixties there was this popular TV show that began with this question. The viewer got to see who the celebrity was based on the person’s signature and the contestants had to guess who the person was by asking questions about the person. Signatures […]
Will the Real Superhero Please Stand Up? It Starts Monday! Next week is EMS week! Starting on Monday, we take time in the U.S.A. to recognize all of you who do so much to bring healing, comfort and care to your community. Monday kicks off not only EMS week but also begins a brand new […]
CMS Releases Further Clarification and Guidance about Prior Authorizations Here to Stay The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Prior Authorization Demonstration Project is here to stay. Put in place by CMS as a pilot project in the States of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and South Carolina in December, 2014; the program requires that all […]
On Drop Downs and Written Narratives- Connecting the Data in our PCRs “Paint a Picture” We read a lot of communication that point to expectations. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), State agencies and even Commercial Insurance payers bombard our billing office with all kind of communication about what they expect to be […]
H.R. 2 and You Last Week Last week Congress passed the “Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015.” The Bill, H.R. 2, contained an important provision for the ambulance industry and it passed on the brink of allowing the Medicare ground ambulance bonus payments to expire. The extension effected by H.R. 2 allows them to […]
The Importance of Building and Maintaining Relationships Beyond EMS – Part 2 Last week… This is the second part of a two-part series about building relationships within the healthcare community but outside of your EMS circles. Last week we explored why this is necessary and who we should be building those relationships with. In this […]
