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TAOG Executive Office Karen O'Briant 141 Idlewild Creek Road Sweetwater, Texas 79556 (325) 235-1959 FAX: (325) 235-4687 TOLL FREE (866) 935-1959 TAOG 
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© Copyright 2001 Texas Association of Obstetricians & Gynecologists All Rights Reserved Photos by PhotoDisc |
| June 2009/Vol 9, Issue 6 |
You are here: Practice Issues > June 2009/Vol 9, Issue 6
Practice Management and Coding Update(ACOG)
June 2009/Vol 9, Issue 6
Welcome to ACOG's Practice Management and Coding Update. The Update provides timely information on coding, reimbursement and practice management issues. Information on a variety of coding and practice management issues is available on ACOG's web site under the Practice Management heading at http://www.acog.org/.
In this issue of the Update:
1) CODING ADVICE: DIAGNOSIS CODING FOR CYSTIC FIBROSIS CARRIER SCREENING
2) ACM EMR VENDORS LISTED
3) HOW WELL DOES YOUR FRONT DESK STAFF REPRESENT YOU?
4) ELECTRONIC MEDICAL RECORDS – CHANGE MANAGEMENT & PROCESS REDESIGN
5) PREFERRED PROVIDER NETWORK CONTRACTING TOOLKIT
6) ATHENAHEALTH RANKS HUMANA AS BEST PAYER
7) ACOG WEBCASTS:
June 9, 2009: Quality and Safety in the Office Setting
July 14, 2009: Patient Safety and Best Practices: New Perinatal Initiatives
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1) CODING ADVICE: DIAGNOSIS CODING FOR CYSTIC FIBROSIS CARRIER SCREENING
ACOG Committee Opinion #325, Update on Carrier Screening for Cystic Fibrosis, 2001, (Reaffirmed 2007) recommended that information about cystic fibrosis screening should be made available to all couples. Additionally, the opinion stated that because it is becoming increasingly difficult to assign a single ethnicity, it is reasonable to offer cystic fibrosis carrier screening to all pregnant patients regardless of race or ethnicity. This offers an alternative to selective screening. However, the women should be aware of their carrier risk and of the test limitations.
When providing this screening, ACOG also recommends that providers explain to the patient, up front, that they may or may not have coverage for this testing. If the patient does not have coverage, then she will be responsible for the charges.
When performing the testing for procreative management, report an ICD-9-CM code from the V26.3X (Genetic counseling and testing) series. However, if the results from the screening are positive, you may report ICD-9-CM code V83.81 (Genetic carrier status; Cystic fibrosis gene carrier).
ICD-9 code V77.6 (Special screening for endocrine, nutritional, metabolic, and immunity disorders; Cystic fibrosis) is reported when screening for the actual disease, not when testing to determine the patient’s carrier status.
2) ACM EMR VENDORS LISTED
A list of the electronic medical record vendors who exhibited at the 2009 ACOG Annual Clinical Meeting in Chicago is now available along with contact information for each vendor. Those vendors who participated in the ACOG sponsored Vendor Challenge are noted. ACOG does not endorse any one vendor or product.
http://www.acog.org/departments/dept_notice.cfm?recno=47&bulletin=4843
3) HOW WELL DOES YOUR FRONT DESK STAFF REPRESENT YOU?
ACOG Today recently ran an article on the importance of your front desk staff as representative of you and your practice. Is the focus of your front desk staff on customer service? ACOG members (log-in required) can access the article at: http://www.acog.org/publications/acog_newsletters/acogToday0509.pdf
4) ELECTRONIC MEDICAL RECORDS – CHANGE MANAGEMENT & PROCESS REDESIGN
The third in a series of articles by ACOG's HIT consultant Mike McCoy, MD, FACOG addresses the concepts around Change Management and Process Redesign. The article can be accessed at:
http://www.acog.org/departments/wysiwyg-new.cfm?bulletin=4844
Earlier articles by Dr. McCoy and other information related to electronic medical records can be found on the Health Information Technology page on ACOG's website:
http://www.acog.org/departments/dept_web.cfm?recno=47
5) PREFERRED PROVIDER NETWORK CONTRACTING TOOLKIT
The American Medical Association (AMA) and the American Association of Preferred Provider Organizations (AAPPO) have jointly developed an educational guide on contracting targeted to preferred provider networks, payers and physicians. To access the toolkit, go to: http://www.ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/368/aappo-toolkit.pdf
6) ATHENAHEALTH RANKS HUMANA AS BEST PAYER
In the 4th annual PayerView rankings of payers by Athena Health in conjunction with Physicians Practice, Humana has been top ranked for measures of financial performance, administrative performance and medical policy complexity. For a full listing and explanation of the criteria used in the rankings, go to:
http://www.athenahealth.com/our-services/PayerView.php
7) ACOG LIVE WEBCASTS:
June 9, 2009: Quality and Safety in the Office Setting
1:00 – 2:30 PM ET
Presenter: Roxane Gardner, MD, MPH, FACOG
Cost: $49 Members; $59 Non-members
Registration closes at noon ET on Monday, June 8
This webcast will address the challenges of continuously improving the quality and safety of patient care in the office setting. After participating in this webcast, participants should be able to:
• Review factors contributing to patient harm in the ambulatory care setting and their impact on liability in obstetrics and gynecology
• Highlight characteristics of a safety culture and its role in the obstetric-gynecologic ambulatory patient care setting
• Discuss benchmarks of high quality ambulatory care in the practice of obstetrics and gynecology
• Identify strategies for continued improvement in the quality and safety of obstetrics and gynecology in the ambulatory care setting
July 14, 2009: Patient Safety and Best Practices: New Perinatal Initiatives
1:00 – 2:30 PM ET
Presenter: Steven L. Clark, MD, FACOG
Cost: $49 Members; $59 Non-members
Registration closes at noon ET on Monday, July 13
Despite tremendous advances in the care of the pregnant patient over the past several decades, medical errors and preventable adverse outcomes continue to occur. Most of these events reflect highly competent physicians and nurses practicing within a flawed system of health care delivery. By drawing from the experience of other high risk professions that have achieved "High Reliability Organization" status we can reduce errors and improve outcomes for perinatal patients.
At the conclusion of this course, the participant will be able to:
• Identify characteristics of Highly Reliable organizations and their application to obstetric practice
• Understand why standardization of practice is critical to quality improvement in high risk situations
• Recognize the value of checklists in avoiding medical error
• Understand why a reduction in the cesarean delivery rate can only be achieved as a secondary effect of improved overall care
• Recognize the short list of situations that result in 95% of preventable adverse outcomes
• Appreciate the role these principles play in reducing obstetric litigation
To register: http://www.acog.org/postgrad/pgpage.cfm?recno=496
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