Network Chatter 1
by Suzan Hvizdash, CPC, CRN Senior Auditor, Instructor
A weekly feature of the CRN Newsletter will be "List Serve Lately"; a few summaries of the big discussions on the CRN list serve. For those of you who don't regularly read it, this will give you some idea of the various topics we discuss. For you regulars; here's a few tidbits to share with others as we jog your memory.
Although a quiet week in general, it started out with a bang! The issue: Medical records, Medicaid and the patient’s rights to the chart. The question was that an office was being charged $75 for copied records requested by a Medicaid patient. They were old records and were copied out of storage. Was the office able to pass this charge along to the patient? The poster wanted to know if this was possible since the patient had Medical Assistance as the insurance. Opinions showed that under HIPAA, the patient has the “right” to “view” the chart at no cost. However, when it come to obtaining a full copy, states have determined that per page fees can be charged. There is no law prohibiting the practice from charging the patient. Another opinion was that the records be provided free of charge if sent directly to another provider. Further details showed that different attorneys have different opinions as well. One said you are prohibited by state law ( Oregon) from charging a patient for these records, but you can charge other requesters. And yet another poster wanted to see this type of a law in writing. A hot topic that stayed with us all week!!
Job opportunities were popular this week. Barbara has an extended opportunity for coders in California. The project will be starting soon and she’s looking for seasoned coders to fill these jobs. Another position was offered in Del Ray Beach, FL. Blake in Georgia is looking for work and a fellow list server mentioned that her resume was already sitting on her desk for an opportunity she will have in October. The list serve is unbelievably helpful in finding opportunities! (Note: Job postings can only be posted on the CRN Web Forum not the listserv unless paid advertising.)
Coding questions, as usual abounded. Of course, this is why the list serve is here! We helped tackle questions such as Needle Aspiration of Ovarian Cysts, Pitocin, Rhogam, and even toxic elements found in hair. It looked as though everyone found their answers and some good discussion came out of these questions. The needle aspiration gave an answer of 10022. The drug answers that were suggested were J2590 and J2790 or J2788 respectively. The ICD-9-CM section that was recommended for the toxic hair was the 796.0-abnormal findings, toxicological. What a variety of questions, and so many experts to help!
This issue of what to charge, if anything, for no-shows was a discussion at the end of the week. Some don’t charge, others were charging between $20-$40 if a patient did not keep his/her appointment.
The issue of CEU qualified seminars/on-line courses was brought to the table. People mentioned various areas where one can find these. AAPC has some great ones; as does the Coding Institute. The CRN, conveniently, has many on-line courses and will be starting some TeleWebinars and e-learning situations. All of these were great suggestions to which the list serve members could follow up.
Thank you to all who continue to participate.
Thank you to all who continue to participate. For those of you not yet familiar with the list serve, try it-it's a fantastic source of information and expert advise. For those too shy to respond or post, don't be. There might be others out there with the same experiences who have found solutions. Benefit from their knowledge and give it a try.