Anesthesia Coding Alert

Hint: It all hinges on the documentation. Even if the OIG hasn’t targeted your practice for an audit, it’s still a necessary process you should go through on a regular basis. Audits can help your practice in multiple ways, including rescuing some well-deserved money or highlighting issues that can help you avoid compliance nightmares down the road. What it means: When you perform a self-audit, you’re comparing your physician’s billing records, claims, and medical records to verify expected treatment outcomes and medical necessity of services. In addition, you’ll look for appropriate documentation to support fees and reasonable charges for services your physicians rendered.   Why you audit: When you audit your physician’s services, you can uncover incorrect coding patterns or compliance issues. The good news is that you’ll discover any problems before an outside auditor (such as one from the OIG or a private insurer) does -- and can put corrective [...]