CMA members’ concerns about a recent reimbursement policy change Blue Shield had announced regarding evaluation and management (E/M) services billed with the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) modifier 25. The new policy would reduce by 50% reimbursement for any non-preventive E/M service appended with modifier 25 and billed with a minor procedure code.
VBC (value-based care) is coming to otolaryngology offices within the next five years through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) initiatives, and otolaryngology needs strategies for responding to how value, outcomes, and cost will be captured and measured
On April 23, the FTC issued a final rule banning non-competition agreements. After a roller coaster of litigation and uncertainty that lasted months, the FTC Final Rule was halted by a federal court in Texas, in the form of a nationwide injunction. Now the question looms: What does this mean for current and future physician noncompetes?
Fundamental to medical decision making is the challenging task of weighing the benefits against the risks of any given treatment decision. Clinical guidelines and protocols help with this decision making, which is further informed by physician judgment, particularly when the evidence is weak or lacking.
Prepare early. Gather data. Develop a plan. Know your market. Consider termination. Hire a lawyer. These are some tips experts suggest physicians and physician groups keep in mind when negotiating contractual arrangements with insurance companies.
Social media use within otolaryngology is increasing rapidly, mainly for professional networking but also for applications that directly impact patient care, such as patient education and study recruitment.
Designing parental leave is part of a broader issue of acknowledging that physicians have other things going on in their lives—personal and family.
Being fully informed about the logistics of family-planning efforts—whether it’s fertility preservation, in vitro fertilization, or surrogate parenting—and being your own advocate can help physicians through this challenging terrain of work-life integration.
It’s critical that otolaryngologists become familiar with, educated about, and unafraid of AI to prepare for the inevitable integration of AI applications into their practices.
Commercial-grade, app-based pure tone audiometry demonstrates an overall strong correlation and accuracy with traditional audiometry, but it is not intended to replace an evaluation performed in a controlled environment with calibrated equipment and a skillfully trained clinician.