HCPro.com: Radiology Administrator's Compliance and Reimbursement Insider

Each month in the Radiology Administrator's Compliance & Reimbursement Insider, you get strategies and techniques used by leading hospitals, medical groups, and imaging centers to comply with Medicare, Medicaid, and other regulatory requirements. Now with free eTools!

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February 2006 (Volume 3, Issue 2)	view entire issue

Prepare for the JCAHO's visit to your radiology department
When inspectors from the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) came to the University of North Carolina Health Care System, they headed to JoAnn Belanger 's radiology department first. "I don't know why," she told an audience during the Radiology Society of North America (RSNA) annual conference in Chicago. "I guess they just thought radiology was the place to start." Belanger, a registered nurse, manages patient services and the radiology department at the endovascular clinic of the University of North Carolina Health Care System. She's been through her fair share of JCAHO visits during her 21 years of experience. A JCAHO surveyor who visited her department called the technology of radiology akin to the gadgetry of a Buck Rogers episode. Belanger remembers keeping a stack of notebooks to show JCAHO officials when they came in past years. Now there's far too much information to keep on a shelf.

Follow these tips to reduce your risk of breast cancer lawsuits
Patients or their families who file breast cancer malpractice lawsuits generally do so because of several basic factors. Awareness of these common factors can be crucial to fending off potential litigation. Younger-than-usual patients, self-discovery of lumps, poor radiology equipment, and lack of personal connection with patients may lead to lawsuits, says Maureen Mondor, vice president of risk management at Pro-Mutual Group in Boston. However, knowledge is power. Understanding such litigation statistics can help you address these risk factors. If your facility takes steps to fix such trouble spots, you greatly reduce your chances of being taken to court. Mondor offers the following tips to prevent lawsuits at your facility:

New endovascular repair codes
If your facility performs endovascular repair of aortic aneurysms, prepare for new and revised CPT codes in 2006. Endovascular repair is the use of an endoprosthesis to seal off abnormal sections of the aorta. Endovascular repair of the abdominal aorta has had its own Category I codes for several years, but repair of the thoracic aorta has had only Category III codes (0033T-0040T). On January 1, however, new Category I codes for the thoracic aorta procedures took effect.

Other recently-published articles from Radiology Administrator's Compliance and Reimbursement Insider:

Tips to obtain payment, despite plan denials

CMS issues test order signature clarification

Address test order protocol in hospital setting

ICD-10 execution date proposed: October 1, 2011

2009 MPFS offers imaging implications

MIPPA mandates imaging accreditation for all providers

Technologists play a major role in the revenue cycle

Common elements found in CIAs

Self-disclosure protocol clarified

Eight tips to improve MRI throughput

IDTFs get Claims Processing Manual chapter of their own

Medicare preserves local coverage determination for CCTA

Settlement reveals lessons for radiologists

Don’t let chart errors lead to further medical mistakes

Target safety issues to ensure older workers’ well-being

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