“It’s actually an exciting time for patients who have metastatic urothelial cancers and prostate cancers or advanced prostate cancers because there are a lot more products on the way, like the newer hormone agents for prostate cancer and the new immunologic agents like PARP inhibitors for different types of cancers," says one urologist.
"On Nov. 1, 2019, CMS published a final rule making important changes to the 2020 Quality Payment Program (Merit-based incentive Payment System [MIPS] and alternative payment models). Among the most significant are changes to the MIPS Cost Category: changes in the way patients are attributed to physicians, changes in the way the cost measures are calculated, and the addition of new episode-based cost measures," writes Robert A. Dowling, MD.
Avenues for taking distributions vary according to the decedent’s age.
"Automated urinalysis codes declined 19%, while the manual urinalysis codes without and with microscopy dropped 0.6% and 7.6% respectively over the 3-year period," writes Robert A. Dowling, MD.
"One of the common issues we have noted for urology practices in updating ICD-10 codes is not the electronic medical record or practice management system failing to load new codes; rather, it is a failure to update templates," write Ray Painter, MD, and Mark Painter.
In this video, Mara R. Holton, MD, vice chair of LUGPA’s Health Policy Committee, discusses how the 2020 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule will affect urologists.
"This time of year presents the perfect opportunity to review and possibly adjust your financial planning strategies," writes Jeff Witz, CFP.
"There are two major reasons for you to confirm accuracy: to be sure that fraudulent claims are not being submitted and to confirm that the claims accurately reflect the work you have performed," write Ray Painter, MD, and Mark Painter.
This article will discuss obstacles that urologists typically must address when implementing telemedicine into their practice.
Written policies should address scheduling guidelines and appointment cancellations, advises Robert A. Dowling, MD.
"If your life insurance needs are temporary, then term insurance is likely the most appropriate vehicle," writes Jeff Witz, CFP.
"The much-anticipated proposed rule for the Medicare physician fee schedule was finally released on July 29, 2019. The bottom-line impact to urology for 2020-based changes to relative value units is a projected +1% additionally," write the Painters.
"One is the delay in delivering care. If I order surgery that requires prior authorization, it won’t always come through in a timely manner, and that impacts patients’ quality of life," says one urologist.
"Patient access to health information-whether it resides in a medical record, a lab company’s system, or an insurance company records-is a right firmly protected by federal laws and regulations," writes Robert A. Dowling, MD.
Trusts provide management of assets while minimizing probate expenses, according to Jeff Witz, CFP.
"Respecting what we believe is the intention of the CPT description, if the hernia repair is incidental, we will recommend not coding for the hernia repair," write the Painters.
Detailed consent statements are recommended, even for repeated treatments.
Cass Schaedig, vice president of provider analytics, ION Solutions for AmerisourceBergen, talks with Urology Times about the value of benchmarking in patient care, practice management, and health policy.
Ray Painter, MD, and Mark Painter answer a coding question regarding postvoid residual measurement.
The average industry payment to a urologist saw a decline in 2018 compared with the previous year.
"We start by having a discussion with patients and letting them know about available resources, but that they have to accept some responsibility themselves," says one urologist.
"It should be noted that payer policies and payment for assistant at surgery will vary if you are paid as primary surgeon during the same encounter," write Ray Painter, MD, and Mark Painter.
Work out decisions on combined accounts and long-term goals before the big day, advises Jeff Witz, CFP.
Robert A. Dowling, MD, discusses how the National Practitioner Data Bank can inform urologists about the prevalence and type of medical malpractice payments and adverse actions against health care providers in the U.S.
In this article, Robert A. Dowling, MD, discusses Part D drug spending that may be of interest to the practicing urologist: those drugs prescribed, and in some cases, dispensed in the urology practice.
Procrastination and lack of an investment strategy can jeopardize long-term success.
