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FootZine,
Volume 14 |
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| Are you familiar with that old expression,
"The mind boggles"? My mind is still boggling
over the wealth of information presented this morning by Drs. Harry
Goldsmith and Rick Horsman at the Washington State Podiatric
Medical Association's insurance/coding seminar. As you may
know, they are the editors of Codingline.com and CodinglinePRINT,
respectively. Thanks to sponsorship from Dermik and Novartis,
they provided us with a wealth of printed information for later
reference, including some examples of forms that could make this
part of our work more efficient. They also provided more than
a little humor to make the "bitter pills" easier to
swallow. While many of the things they told us today have been said before, by themselves and by others, I found myself writing reminders to do some of the things that we tend to forget or overlook. How well do you know all those modifiers in the CPT book? How often do you use them? Do you remember the parts of the ICD-9 book - the "E" and "V" codes - that provide more detailed descriptions of the patient's situation? Would a well-chosen E or V code save you some clarifying phone calls later? One more nugget to act on: It seems that not all insurance carriers follow Medicare's lead with regard to assigning global periods to CPT codes, so it would behoove us to ask each one what their global period is on any given procedure. If you ever have the opportunity to attend a Codingline lecture, don't pass it up! *_* *_* *_* It was not my intention to have a "Virus of the Week" feature, but thanks to a note from Joan Cox, we are aware of another worm virus. Checking into it via the Symantec/Norton site, we learned that "W32.Lirva.C@mm is a mass-mailing worm that also spreads by IRC, ICQ, KaZaA, and open network shares. It is a variant of W32.Lirva.A@mm. This worm attempts to terminate antivirus and firewall products. It also emails the cached Windows 95/98/Me dial-up networking passwords to the virus writer." I had also seen references to this virus on the MSN and ATTBI web sites, with the notation that it is also referred to as the "Avril Lavigne" virus. This is because it tries to entice the recipient into opening the attachment by using the name of the singer and the suggestion that you may get to attend an awards show if you follow their instructions. Here is the link to the Symantec/Norton AntiVirus page about this new worm: http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.lirva.c@mm.html and here is McAfee's: http://www.mcafee.com/anti-virus/default.asp Be careful out there! ~ Gayle *_* Letters
*_* re: Question from
regb1925@aol.comfrom: via phone from Bill Armwood, SAS Shoemakers "Where can I purchase SAS shoes in the Detroit, Michigan, area?" ~ RJB Bill provided two sources in the Detroit area. They are: Marshall's Uniform in Detroit: (313) 832-2020 and FootPrints in Royal Oak: (248) 542-0901 *_* *_* *_* From: Kim Devore, LPN re: Web Sites for LPNs in Podiatry Gayle, My name is Kim and I am an LPN in an area Podiatrist's office. I am interested in finding out if you know any web sites that provide LPN's with continuing education that is directed toward my area of interest? I will await your reply. Thanks, Kim kldevo68@sssnet.com *_* *_* *_* From: Linda Casella re: Sodium Bicarbonate 8.4% Single Dose Vials Gayle, We use sodium bicarbonate 8.4% solution in our practice. Our suppliers only carry it in pre-filled syringes. We need the vials. Do any of the other offices have a supplier of this product? Thanks, Linda Casella *_* HIPAA
Q & A *_* The Question:by Raymond F. Posa, MBA It was nice of Ray to respond with what he and Kevin discussed concerning sign-in sheets. My next question is the charts being locked up or at least guarded by some means. Can you address this please? Thanks so much. Gail Bennett, PMAC WSPMAA Executive Director The Answer: Gail, HIPAA does not require you to lock up your charts. HIPAA does require controlling access to the charts. Generally what is required is that you store the charts in areas where the patients would not have access to them, some examples are, behind the front desk, in a basement, or in a storage room. HIPAA realizes that in order to function you need ready access to your charts and therefore it does not impose any Draconian measures that will hinder you practice. By just keeping the charts in non-public areas of your office you are in compliance. The only other thing you should consider is an office alarm system. This will address several HIPAA issues and with the price of alarm systems being so cheap it’s a no-brainer. The average alarm system with central station monitoring will cost less than a locking chart cabinet, plus you will probably get a discount on your business insurance policy (check with your insurance agent). These questions and their answers will be archived on the FootZine web site on the "HIPAA FAQ" page, at http://www.footzine.com/FZ_50.htm Email your HIPAA questions to: gaylejohnson@FootZine.com *_* FootZine
Feeture Article *_* 1)The HIPAA Top Ten List - The Top Ten False Assumptions About HIPAA Raymond F. Posa, MBA 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10) It is amazing the number of rumors that exist about HIPAA. There has been a multi-year effort undertaken by the government to disseminate information about HIPAA, yet the rumors persist. Some of the rumors are based in wishful thinking, others are a “doom and gloom” scenario, and some are just self-serving rumors put out by companies looking to cash in. I recommend that every doctor and HIPAA compliance officer spend an hour at the government HIPAA web site (http://www.cms.hhs.gov/hipaa/) . This will give you answers right from the horse’s mouth. We also encourage the use of open forums such as FootZine to get answers to your questions from qualified experts. Remember, your questions are probably the same questions on the minds of your colleagues, so please ask. The single biggest thing to remember about HIPAA is that it is real, and enforcement and penalties begin April 14, 2003. By: Raymond F. Posa, MBA Technology Advisor to the American Academy of Podiatric Practice Management President, R. Francis Associates Any questions or comments can be addressed to Mr. Posa by E-mail: Rposa@Rfrancis.com You can review previous installments from Mr. Posa at http://www.footzine.com/FZ_5.htm *_* *_*
*_* This week I read about a new podiatry presence
on the internet. ePodiatry.com is based in Sydney, Australia,
and offers a weekly newsletter. An international sampling of
articles and meeting notices can be found there, as well. The
link to their home page is http://www.epodiatry.com/index.aspWelcome to the ePodiatry Team, and best wishes for their Success in this venture! ~ Gayle *_* *_*
*_* Copyright 2003 Gayle S. Johnson, PMAC All
Rights Reserved.DISCLAIMER: Acceptance and publication of any letter, article, news item or advertisement does not necessarily constitute or imply approval or endorsement by myself of the product, idea, or content therein. I reserve the right to edit or to not publish any material received. Any letters published are the property of Footzine. Any health- or legal- and financial- related information is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as medical, legal or financial advice, or a substitute for the advice of a healthcare professional, attorney, financial advisor or any other consultant or professional. Information pertaining to legal matters should not perceived as legal advice, nor should discussion about such issues as Medicare, coding, and billing be considered as definitive. All content is presented as being only the opinions of the contributors and is for educational purposes only. To Subscribe or Unsubscribe, simply send an email request to me at: gaylejohnson@footzine.com Gayle S. Johnson, PMAC |
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