HAP Radiology Billing and Coding Blog

Radiology groups who provide imaging services to patients in Pennsylvania should be aware of a new state law known as the “Patient Test Result Information Act,” or Pennsylvania Act 112 of 2018.  Originally scheduled to begin on December 23, 2018, its implementation has been delayed for a year.  In order to implement compliance with this new law, radiology groups and the facilities in which they practice will have to develop a system to monitor results and identify those that require a notice to be sent. 

HAP has long advised our clients and blog readers to utilize technology to enhance the revenue cycle process.  Our article The Importance of Accepting Electronic Payments at Your Radiology Practice is the most recent, but electronic transactions have also been highlighted in our Best Practices in Radiology Patient Billing article.  Most practices today accept credit or debit cards in one way or another, but they might not be aware of the need for security protocols surrounding them.

In our article Best Practices in Radiology Patient Billing, we identified a greater focus on practice billing processes as a critical element in improving patients’ satisfaction with the practice, and we encouraged practices to accept electronic payments.  According to the InstaMed Trends in Healthcare Payments Eighth Annual Report 2017 released in May 2018, “Consumer loyalty is increasingly tied to the healthcare payments experience as 65 percent of consumers would consider switching healthcare providers for a better healthcare payments experience.” 

With the publication of the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) Final Rule for 2019, which includes the Quality Payment Program (QPP) Final Rule, we can now review how radiologists can prepare to maximize their 2021 Medicare reimbursement through QPP participation in 2019.  The QPP includes both the Medicare Incentive-based Payment System (MIPS) and Alternative Payment Model (APM) tracks.  Since most radiology groups are currently participating in MIPS, we will focus on steps to take for successful participation in this program.

“If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.” Harvard President Derek Bok, et al.

The final rule for the 2019 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) accepts many of the proposals made earlier this year but some are modified or delayed.

The term “Relative Value Units”, or RVU, is used frequently these days in a variety of contexts.  RVUs form the basis for payment of physician fees by Medicare and other payers, and they can be used to measure physician productivity for a variety of purposes.

In September, we published the article Out-of-Network Balance Billing Laws Are Important for Radiologists to Be Aware Of about the New Jersey law that states patients receiving emergency or urgently needed services will not be required to pay any more than the deductible, copayment or coinsurance they would normally pay whether the hospital and/or its physicians are in-network or out-of-network with the patient’s insurance plan.  Here are some more pieces of information we think you should know:

A study reported in the September 2018 American Journal of Roentgenology concludes, “A semi-automated approach to tracking patients with IVC filters can facilitate care coordination and clinical decision-making for a device with known potential complications.”  The study followed 293 IVC filter recipients over a 6-month period, and found that the use of a tracking system improved the filter retrieval rate from 23% to 34% over the same period of the previous year. 

The American College of Radiology (ACR) does a very thorough job of reviewing and commenting on proposed federal legislation such as the annual changes to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS).  Their 59-page letter of September 10, 2019 to Seema Verma, Administrator 
of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), is available on the ACR website for radiologists to review in detail.