It is always a good idea to optimize your billing to honestly reflect the services you provide. Monetary reimbursement for expert services is often reduced or denied by insurance carrier policies that disallow payment for such things as range of motion studies, gait analysis, casting or impression fee, orthotic training etc. The providers are left billing only for “evaluation and management” services.
Thorough examination of your patients’ biomechanical and musculoskeletal conditions, as well as determining the proper course of treatment and achieving the best possible outcome of that treatment is often a daunting task. Make sure to document adequately the services you provide, and remember to bill the highest level evaluation and management code that best reflects the documentation you have created. EMR templates or checklists can help in proving the amount of time spent or level of medical decision necessary to justify the particular E and M code you have billed.
Do you bill for services other than Evaluation and Management when making orthotics for your patient? Possible services might include gait analysis, range of motion studies, impression/casting fees. When setting up cash arrangements with patients, do you make the orthotics a "case fee" including all associated services for a reasonable amount of time, or do you bill additional E and M codes for follow up visits? Do you require a deposit before the creation of the orthotic devices? Let’s talk!
