Coding and Billing Stars at Eye Physicians and Surgeons, P.A.
When you visit your medical professional, or receive a statement or bill in the mail, do you think about the coding that goes into the billing process? It all begins during your medical visit. Your provider checks off on a billing sheet (fee slip) the services rendered that day and may even write in some codes. When your visit is complete the fee slip makes its way to the billing department - EPS has a staff of 4 in this department - and the billers review what the doctor has marked on the fee slip as well as the office visit notes in order to send a complete bill to the insurance companies and/or Medicare. If payment gets denied, the individuals in the billing department determine the reason for denial and possibly resubmit the bill with corrected codes.
Recently there has been a lot of angst among medical providers and their staff due to anticipated changes that Medicare planned to make in their codes. They were changing from ICD-9 to ICD-10 with specific code changes for each diagnosis. The date of October 1, 2015 was the targeted change-over date. We held our breath as the bill progressed from the office visit to Medicare, and good news! We are congratulating our billing department for their successful payment status from Medicare. EPS billers grasped the new coding language and we have been successfully reimbursed by Medicare. Good work Angie, Kia, Ashley, and Ann Marie!
But we cannot sit on our laurels as there is more work ahead. Currently we are working on "Meaningful Use" which will allow us to interact with doctors electronically throughout the United States via our electronic medical records system. This will be to the patient's advantage as individuals travel or relocate, and their medical issues go with them. It is good to have confidence that the electronic medical records system will assure important information is accessible to the medical professional world.
