Practice Management Alert

Self-audits are not only necessary if your practice has been scheduled for an OIG audit; there are many other reasons why claims reviews can help your practice. You may actually rescue some money with audits, and you may avoid compliance nightmares.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 plus here is that you'll discover any problems before an outside auditor (such as one from the OIG or a private insurer) does. Checklist: If you don't know quite where to begin when you perform your first self-audit, keep this handy reference as a guide [...]