Barbara Cobuzzi, MBA, CPC, CPC-H, CPC-P, CPC-I, CENTC, CPCO – Page 5

Optimal Time to Remind Patients of Appointments

March 18, 2019March 29, 2019Barbara Cobuzzi, MBA, CPC, CPC-H, CPC-P, CPC-I, CENTC, CPCONo Comments

Data from 20 million appointments by SolutionReach was analyzed to gain insight into the optimum time for practice managers and their staffs to successfully remind patients about their upcoming appointments. The data showed that a reminder sent immed… For more, read here: AAPC Blog

Get Experience as a Newly Certified Coder

March 12, 2019March 13, 2019Barbara Cobuzzi, MBA, CPC, CPC-H, CPC-P, CPC-I, CENTC, CPCONo Comments

I do a lot of mentoring and networking. And as a result, I hear from newly-certified coders, who have their CPC-A and who are having trouble finding a job because most employers are looking for people who have experience. It feels like a Catch-22 bec… For more, read here: AAPC Blog

New Rules Issued for Modifiers 59, XE, XS, XP, and XU

February 25, 2019March 13, 2019Barbara Cobuzzi, MBA, CPC, CPC-H, CPC-P, CPC-I, CENTC, CPCONo Comments

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a policy change modification to the claims processing logic for Modifier 59 Distinct procedural service (and the optional patient-relationship modifiers XE, XS, XP, and XU) on February 15, … For more, read here: AAPC Blog

Will Computer-Assisted Coding Make Coders Obsolete?

February 21, 2019March 13, 2019Barbara Cobuzzi, MBA, CPC, CPC-H, CPC-P, CPC-I, CENTC, CPCONo Comments

I was recently asked by a medical coder if I thought our professional services would soon become obsolete as more and more computer-assisted coding (CAC) applications are developed. I did not have to think about this for very long because CAC increas… For more, read here: AAPC Blog

New CMS App Limited, But a Start

February 20, 2019March 13, 2019Barbara Cobuzzi, MBA, CPC, CPC-H, CPC-P, CPC-I, CENTC, CPCONo Comments

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has launched a new application in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store for Medicare Part B beneficiaries. This application, called What’s Covered, is part of CMS’ developing eMedicare program… For more, read here: AAPC Blog

98point6 Wants to be Amazon Prime of Primary Care

February 12, 2019March 13, 2019Barbara Cobuzzi, MBA, CPC, CPC-H, CPC-P, CPC-I, CENTC, CPCONo Comments

A Seattle company looks to make primary care as easy as buying something off of Amazon.com. 98point6 is a Seattle start-up brain child of Rob Schwietzer who scaled Amazon Prime from thousands to millions and CEO Robbie Cape from Microsoft. 98point6 … For more, read here: AAPC Blog

Court Upholds Ruling in UnitedHealthcare Out-of-Network Case

February 1, 2019March 13, 2019Barbara Cobuzzi, MBA, CPC, CPC-H, CPC-P, CPC-I, CENTC, CPCONo Comments

The Eight Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s ruling regarding out-of-network payments by UnitedHealthcare (UHC). How Ruling Got Started UHC has a policy of offsetting payments for patients in a different plan when they are trying to… For more, read here: AAPC Blog

Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Model to Change in 2020

January 25, 2019January 31, 2019Barbara Cobuzzi, MBA, CPC, CPC-H, CPC-P, CPC-I, CENTC, CPCONo Comments

There are big changes on the horizon for the Medicare Part D prescription drug model, and they’re going to affect medical coders. The current reimbursement system and payment model for Part D creates incentives for plans to push patients to the … For more, read here: AAPC Blog

3 Issues in 2019 Virtual Care

January 23, 2019January 31, 2019Barbara Cobuzzi, MBA, CPC, CPC-H, CPC-P, CPC-I, CENTC, CPCONo Comments

Mandy Roth of Healthcare Leaders asked readers what they expected in the immediate future (2019) in virtual care, and if any trends can be predicted. As a result, three key issues stood out: Growth in virtual care will be spurred on by changes in reim… For more, read here: AAPC Blog

Cybersecurity Guidance Issued by HHS

January 21, 2019January 31, 2019Barbara Cobuzzi, MBA, CPC, CPC-H, CPC-P, CPC-I, CENTC, CPCONo Comments

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have issued new guidance for healthcare organizations to manage cyberattacks. This is the end result of the 2015 Cybersecurity Act to align the healthcare security practices. Cybersecurity Guidance … For more, read here: AAPC Blog