Practice Management

In this "Coding Q&A" column, Ray Painter, MD, and Mark Painter also answer questions regarding bladder instillations and penile modeling during IPP placement.

An emergency fund is an important part of any financial plan and can be the difference between comfortably surviving an unexpected event and financial distress.

"If you embrace change with curiosity, you’re going to stay ahead of the times," says one urologist.

Here is a brief overview of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed by Congress.

“My practice has seen a tremendous increase in patients’ awareness of HIFU as a treatment option," says one urologist.

In this article, we review mistakes made throughout the billing, documentation, and coding processes and what you can do to prevent them.

"When submitting an unlisted code for a procedure, you of course need to submit your documentation and we recommend a cover letter or explanation of the service including a comparative value or charge based on a similar code," write Ray Painter, MD, and Mark Painter.

In today’s digital world, having an active professional presence online has become a must.

In 2017, a flood of accusations against high-profile men in positions of power in Hollywood, the U.S. government, and the national media have focused the nation’s attention on sexual harassment and its consequences. The medical workplace is not immune from harassment, and the national conversation presents an opportunity for health care businesses to review their risk, policies, and prevention strategies.

Forming a student loan repayment strategy is not a one-size-fits-all process. What works well for a friend or colleague may not be an effective strategy for you.

Giving back. Studying and following AUA guidelines. Getting a scribe in order to spend more face-to-face time with patients. These are just a few of the responses we received when we reached out to our Editorial Advisory Board, Reader Reactor Panel, and you to find out what your professional resolutions are for 2018.

Ray Painter, MD, and Mark Painter address some misunderstandings involving evaluation and management coding.

Only one-fourth of urologists report understanding the choices available to them regarding the Merit-based Incentive Payment System and Advanced Alternative Payment Models created under Medicare’s Quality Payment Program, according to the Urology Times 2017 State of the Specialty survey.

Our most-read practice management articles covered topics including reimbursement, personal finance, and EHR fraud.

"The potential GOP tax bill makes it difficult to know exactly how the landscape will look in 2018... nevertheless, there are some items you can take care of before the end of the year that can impact your 2017 taxes and overall financial plan," write Jeff Witz, CFP, and David Zemon.

In this article, we provide a summary of CPT changes for 2018, the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule final rule, and the final rule for the Quality Payment Program.

"This survey adds to the growing body of evidence that a significant percentage of physicians, including urologists, continue to see shortcomings in their EHRs," writes Robert A. Dowling, MD.

In this "Malpractice Consult" column, Dawn Collins, JD, also discusses cases involving penile pain following cystoscopy, alleged failure to diagnose kidney obstruction, and death follow stent placement.

A month after Hurricane Harvey’s aftermath, Houston-based urologist Steven Canfield, MD, says his practice is still having to reschedule operating room times to help out with the hurricane-induced OR shortage.

"Urologists need to be ever more vigilant to protect the private information under their custodianship," writes Robert A. Dowling, MD.

"Incidental radiology findings are low-hanging fruit that organizations should develop processes for handling proactively," writes Brianne Goodwin, JD, RN.

Other products and services discussed in this round-up include a biosimilar for cancer, an American College of Surgeons manual on quality initiatives, a kidney cancer microsite, and more.

James M. Hotaling, MD, MS, and Steven A. Kaplan, MD, introduce their new Urology Times section "Tech Talk with Jim and Steve."