Urology Coding Alert

Plus: Look for 2009 incentive payments this fall, CMS says.If all of your physicians are gung-ho about participating in Physician Quality Reporting Incentive (PQRI) except one or two holdouts who are tentative about the program, you can still go ahead and participate without those practitioners. That's the word according to a CMS-sponsored PQRI conference call.Bottom line: Suppose your practice employs four urologists, three of whom are happily plugging along with the program, and one who isn't interested in participating. You can still collect PQRI bonuses for the three who participate."Each one is separately and individually analyzed for qualification," said Michael Rapp, MD, director of CMS's quality measurement and health assessment group. "That fourth person, however, their charges will not be counted toward the bonus," Rapp said. The Physician Fee Schedule charges for the three participating physicians will count toward the bonus, and the fourth physician's charges won't, he said.Look for [...]