Mac's Quick Tips to Stay Cool During a Medicare Audit

Mac's Quick Tips to Stay Cool During a Medicare Audit

Medical Coding Updates - So you want to know how to keep your cool during a Medicare audit? One MAC wants to ensure your documentation meets the muster and will not trigger any issues with auditors so that you can take it easy if you find out they will be paying you a call.

Recently, NGS Medicare, a Part B MAC in four states, offered its "How to Survive a Medicare Audit" webinar. Reps from the payer shared information on preparing your practice so that you are prepared if an auditor should come knocking.

Every practice should access the resources required to be compliant. You should know what LCDs and/or NCDs apply to your practice, and how they affect your bottom line. Are you using the supplemental instruction articles (SIAs) that aid with the billing and coding, and add important information to the LCDs? The MAC's recent poll indicated that many practices do not use the SIAs.

Utilizing the information in the documents as well as your present ICD-9, CPT and HCPCS coding books, you can carry out a self-audit to ensure that your documentation looks pristine.

Button up your documentation: Even though you may have heard "if it was not documented, it was not done many times" during your coding career, it could be the most vital advice you have ever learned. After all, that statement holds true from a legal standpoint if records are ever sent to a court. Supporting documents such as initial evaluation, diagnostic test results, notes from consulting physicians, admission information' can help you prove medical necessity for your services.

To add to it, if you are carrying out any type of therapy or other timed services, see to it that you document the times of starting and finishing.

Bottom line: Your documentation will be the only thing standing between a glowing audit report and a potential problem; as such see to it that your practitioners are documenting just right.

For more tips to stay away from Medicare audits and for other medical coding updates, stay tuned to a medical coding guide like Supercoder.

HCPCS coding, medical coding updates

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