2017 Physical Therapy Caps

2017 Physical Therapy Payment Caps

Starting on January 1, 2017 the limit on incurred expenses for physical therapy is $1,980 and speech-language pathology services combined. There is another limit of $1,980 for occupational services. Deductible and coinsurance amounts paid by the beneficiary for therapy services count toward the amount applied to the limit.

For services furnished during a calendar year that exceed the therapy caps, with an exceptions process in place, providers and practitioners may request an exception on a beneficiary's behalf when those services are reasonable and necessary.

To indicate the medical necessity, the therapy provider or practitioner is required to add a KX modifier to the claim for each applicable service. By using the KX modifier, the provider attests that the services are both (a) reasonable and necessary and (b) that there is documentation of medical necessity in the beneficiary’s medical record.

The therapy caps exceptions process applies an annual manual medical review (MMR) requirements when a beneficiary’s incurred expenses reaches a threshold of $3,700. Each beneficiary’s incurred expenses apply towards the MMR threshold in the same manner as it applies to the therapy caps.

EMR Reminder !!!

Payors Are Watching Electronic Medical Record

(EMR) Documentation

Once you sign your note, You Are Responsible For Its Content.

Every exam component . . .

Every time you copy forward Family/Social History . . .

Every HPI and ROS item you document means You Performed Them On That Visit.

If you document something you did not do You Are Putting Yourself And Institution At Great Risk!

Copy/Paste can be a valuable tool for efficiency when used correctly

There are major Compliance risks when used inappropriately, including potential fraud and abuse allegations, denial of hospital days, and adverse patient outcomes

Make sure your note reflects the reality and accuracy of the service each day

ICD-10 is Coming - No More Delays Likely

                                 


After last years delay do we take ICD-10 seriously?
Yes, ICD-10 is coming.

Please see the link below:
http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/senators-confident-icd-10-go

The prevailing wind looks to be that ICD-10 will happen this year.
Are you ready?  Take a look at some of the resources available:


http://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Coding/ICD10/Latest_News.html

Make sure your system is updated and ready for ICD-10.

PMIS users should plan on dual coding starting in May to practice coding in ICD-10.

The latest release will allow you to code in ICD-10 and produce claims with ICD9 codes.

Preparation is key to being ready for ICD-10

Marketing Physical Therapy

Your therapy newsletter, therapy brochures, physical therapy website and other promotions have to attract patients to your practice. Keeping in touch with your past patients is key, yet most physical therapy practices don’t even do physical therapy marketing to their past patients.  How these materials look, feel and communicate will determine how many new patients are attracted to your physical therapy marketing. Be known for being the experts in town that help patients overcome pain and restore their function.  However, these are the people who know you and will refer to you the most, as well as return for care when needed. In fact, most offices should be seeing 40% or more past patients back for needed care.

Physical therapy practices also need to develop professional relationships with local physicians to develop referrals to the practice. This generates more new patients coming into the practice and a building of the patient base. What promotions you leave behind or send out are a direct reflection of your practice. Show your expertise with a professional and customized, therapy newsletter, physician handouts, therapy brochures, physical therapy websites and more. Marketing physical therapy to physicians has to be ferocious as they are very busy people and are bombarded all day long from many other practices and vendors. You have to market frequently and invest a lot into it. However, with the right physical therapy marketing, you will win. This is where the PMIS Marketing Module can really help you shine. It lets you use the data you already have in your system to easily market to your patients and referring physicians. 

Take a look: Marketing Demo

ICD-10 Transition Date ?

The move to ICD-10 may be delayed again.  What should the small practice do? 
You should move forward with your implementation and make sure your system allows for dual coding.  Dual coding will allow you to code for ICD-10 and still submit ICD-9 codes.  This will make the transition easier, you will begin to learn the new codes and be ready for the actual transition to ICD-10.

Please see the information on the proposed delay of implementation of ICD-10.
http://www.healthcare-informatics.com/article/breaking-icd-10-delay-sgr-temporary-fix-vote

Staying in Touch 

Are you spending too much time trying to reach your patients?
Text Messaging and Email can save you time and money.  Your patients will also prefer getting notices without spending time on the phone.  Have you noticed that most people are talking a lot less on their cell phones?  Integrated text and email messaging from your practice management or scheduler can really save you and your patients a lot of time.  You can look forward to decreased cancellations and no shows.  Make sure you are making the technology work for you! 

Working in the Cloud

Access from Anywhere

Cloud computing its all the rage.  What does it mean to you ?

* Accessing your programs and data anywhere you have internet connectivity.
* Automatic backing of data.
* Server maintenance and upgrades without your own IT staff.
* Software is usually part of the service.
* Running your programs from multiple connected platforms (Apple macs, Ipads, PC's, and smartphones)

Accessing your system in the cloud offers many advantages, your upfront cost are lower and your desktop to run the applications is built upon data center class hardware and software.
We have partnered with ICC Global to give our clients the best cloud experience.

ICC Global Hosting

For physical therapist looking for software that allows easy access and low cost cloud computing may be for you.