Practice Management

Two significant trends are having an impact on most urology practices today. First, most practices, including my own, are experiencing a decrease in reimbursement and rising overhead expenses. This ultimately translates to a decrease in net income.

Only 14% of all medical group practices use an electronic health record (EHR), according to a study by the Medical Group Management Association Center for Research and the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Minneapolis.

A new estimate shows that chronic prostatitis, especially nonbacterial prostatitis, is common in American men and that most diagnosis and treatment takes place in the primary care setting.

An e-mail survey conducted in late July 2005 asked Urology Times readers whether they would participate in the Medicare Competitive Acquisition Program (CAP) in 2006, and why they would or would not.

Q I read the article about "group shared appointments" in the Aug. 1, 2005, issue of Urology Times. Are there specific billing, coding, and documentation issues associated with this type of appointment?

By checking references, you will find out if the prospective partner is a good fit for you and your group.

San Antonio--A new estimate shows that chronic prostatitis, especially nonbacterial prostatitis, is common in American men, and that most diagnosis and treatment takes place in primary care.

Coding for cystourethroscopy

A bill introduced in the U.S. Senate last month would increase Medicare physician reimbursement by 2.7% in 2006.

Nearly every practice is increasing the use of technology to improve office efficiency, enhance reimbursement, and increase patient satisfaction. Nearly every practice has or is considering implementing an electronic medical record, creating a robust interactive web site, networking their computers, and using electronic claims submission and a claims scrubber to ensure that claims are processed more quickly to increase your practice's cash flow.

This year, you have a unique opportunity to improve your income by providing more services in the office.

Washington--Federal officials, after considering arguments and concerns presented by urologists and others, have decided to continue coverage for nearly 100 procedures performed in ambulatory surgical centers, including three urologic procedures, instead of removing them from the approved list as had been previously proposed.

Istanbul, Turkey--Biofeedback physical therapy and pelvic floor re-education appear to offer symptomatic improvement in men with chronic pelvic pain syndrome type III, Dutch researchers say. The techniques appear to work by improving relaxation and demonstrating proper use of pelvic floor muscles.

My question concerns a difficult Foley insertion. If the physician wants to charge for the complicated insertion (51703), shouldn't the reason why it was complicated be documented?

Welcome to San Antonio, the city Mark Twain once called one of the four unique cities in the United States. The others—Boston, New Orleans, and San Francisco—are special in their own right, but none of them have the Alamo or the River Walk so close at hand that AUA meeting attendees can visit them on their lunch break. You'll be amazed at all there is to see and do in San Antonio. Use this list of attractions, presented in alphabetical order, to plan your days here. (Note that the area code for all phone numbers is 210, unless indicated otherwise.)

Linthicum, MD--AUA and Physician Reimbursement Systems (PRS) have teamed with Watson Pharmaceuticals to make AUACodingToday.com free to all AUA members and members of the AUA Practice Managers' Network.

San Francisco--Environmental factors have emerged as potential contributors to genetic anomalies affecting male genitalia, according to studies reported at the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Urology annual meeting.

San Francisco--Environmental factors have emerged as potential contributors to genetic anomalies affecting male genitalia, according to studies reported at the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Urology annual meeting.

A number of questions still surround coding and reimbursement for in-office drug injections. As a result, this article will take a slightly different approach, using a "frequently asked questions" format. I?ll repeat the questions I?ve been asked about the new drug payments at seminars and via phone and e-mail, and attempt to give you straight answers to the best of my understanding.

Washington—Officials at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have recommended that several urologic procedures be ineligible for reimbursement if they are performed in ambulatory surgical centers.

Physical therapy, perineural injections may provide relief without surgery, experts say

Will leuprolide acetate (Lupron) reimbursement fall by 20% in 2005? When will it take place? And what will the reimbursement be?

Washington--There's an outside chance that urologists tired of fighting for medical liability reform in efforts to reduce their insurance rates could end up benefiting from the work of a surgeon who became a politician and is determined to get some federal judges confirmed by Congress.

The year 2005 will portend a significant decrease in income for nearly every American urologist. Most will be impacted by Medicare's slashing the reimbursement for LHRH agonists and certain other drugs administered in the office. Solo practitioners can anticipate annual losses of income in the thousands of dollars, and larger group practices can expect over a $1 million shortfall this year.

Creating a fully automated office costs a significant amount of money and required a lot of time and hard work. For our practice, it was worth it.

Nearly three-fourths of urologists said they wished they had more time to practice medicine.

Washington--The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has published its final rule implementing the 2005 Medicare fee schedule, and it's not good news for urologists-especially those who administer cancer drugs in their offices.

Raritan, NJ-The FDA has approved a once-a-day liquid formulation of the fluoroquinone antibiotic levofloxacin (Levaquin), from Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc. Levofloxacin is indicated for the treatment of a number of infections, including complicated and uncomplicated urinary tract infections, chronic bacterial prostatitis, and acute pyelonephritis.

San Diego--Searching for ways to recoup lost revenue from outpatient prostate cancer therapy, urologists have turned to a variety of non-traditional income producers, ranging from CT scanning to processing of biopsy specimens.

Reimbursement for urologic evaluation and management services increased by one-half since 1995, while surgical reimbursement rates have decreased by about one-third, according to a study in the November Journal of Urology (2004; 172:1958-62).