Physicians: Added Revenue for Assessments like Depression, ADD, BiPolar

Several months ago I met a representative from AssessMD.  I have observed and asked many questions.  AssessMD is a computer software that collects answers to questionnaires for assessments many physicians are doing manually now and not being reimbursed because the assessment is not scored.  AssessMD has assessments to score depression, bipolar, ADD, Anxiety, OCD, ODD,  and others with more test coming.  The patient completes the assessment in a few minutes on the physician’s computer or tablet, and produces scored results for the physician in real time.  The physician can then bill for this assessment in addition to the Evaluation and Management Code (E&M) with the documentation provided by this computerized assessment.

Medicare is now requiring annually assessment for depression among the elderly patients.

This is reimbursed by most insurance companies except certain Medicaid.  The reimburse on average is about $60, which would go direct to the physician’s bottom-line because right now if it is handwritten assessment it is not reimbursed.

The physician has a 45 day trial period to test it in his practice.   If you are not reimbursed by the insurance company, there is no charge of the test to the provider.  As a note, AssessMd is not in a position to be a referral stream only a vendor.

This was initially marketed to limited physician practice types, but they have discovered that it is beneficial to many practice areas pain management, obstetrics/gynecology, elder care, and adolescents to name a few.

At the very least it is worth the time to investigate and discuss with your legal counsel to add revenue to the practice.  If you do not have healthcare counsel, click for a list of affordable healthcare attorneys to ensure this is the right model for your practice.

Contact LouAnn McNaughton  at  “214*538*1123”  or   “LouAnn@assessMD.com”

Angela Miller of Medical Auditing Solutions LLC has been in health care compliance, auditing, billing, collections and HIPAA for over 18 years.  Ms. Miller has made it the  focus of the business to help providers run their businesses efficiently, collect money, and maintain compliance with federal and state regulations and coverage criteria through compliance program development, management and training.  Ms. Miller is very experienced with Medicare & Payer audits.  Ms. Miller ran a very successful compliance program for over 5 years for the largest private held HME/Pharmacy provider in the US at the time.  Ms. Miller  also works as a contract compliance officer to provide an avenue to compliance training to staff, implementation of policies, as well as handling anything that affects cash flow from the initial intake to back-end collections. You can visit our website at Medical Auditing Solutions LLC.

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Innovation & Cost Savings: Beacon by LabCorp

I recently attended a meeting and LabCorp Representative spoke about various services they offer.  Toni Spain is very knowledgeable and passionate about patient care and provider the tools to the physicians to be more efficient, cost effective for the provider and provide the best care to the patient.

Ms. Spain introduced Beacon, which is at no additional cost to a general LabCorp account!  Beacon is virtual access to lab results and providers up to 2 years of lab history for the patient, no matter who ordered previous tests on file.  This will save the payers money and provider the physicians the ability to make decisions and treatment recommendations quicker for better quality patient care.  The patients many times do not remember what kind of tests other physicians orders, the results, or which physician ordered it.

This is an innovative step for LabCorp right at the time when Medicare is trying to implement Accountable Care Organizations which is all about quality care for the least expense by managing medical costs.

Contact Toni Spain for more information on this product that will change your office.

Angela Miller of Medical Auditing Solutions LLC has been in health care compliance, auditing, billing, collections and HIPAA for over 18 years.  Ms. Miller has made it the  focus of the business to help providers run their businesses efficiently, collect money, and maintain compliance with federal and state regulations and coverage criteria through compliance program development, management and training.  Ms. Miller is very experienced with Medicare & Payer audits.  Ms. Miller ran a very successful compliance program for over 5 years for the largest private held HME/Pharmacy provider in the US at the time.  Ms. Miller  also works as a contract compliance officer to provide an avenue to compliance training to staff, implementation of policies, as well as handling anything that affects cash flow from the initial intake to back-end collections. You can visit our website at Medical Auditing Solutions LLC.