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ASA NEWSLETTER Columns

 

2008
July 2008 What's in a Rating? Patients Using Web Sites to Rate Physicians
June 2008 The New Face of Practice Management and Quality at ASA
May 2008 The Third National Pay for Performance Summit: Many Voices, Little Harmony
April 2008 Results from ASA’s 2007 PQRI Participation Study
March 2008 Practice Management: One Consultant’s Composite
February 2008 Evaluating Contracts for Anesthesiology Services: Considerations and Pitfalls From the Clinician’s Perspective
January 2008 Changes for 2008

 

2007
   
December 2007 Protections in Employment Agreements With Hospitals
November 2007 New Federal Rules on Physician Self-Referral Prohibition (Stark Law, Phase III)
August 2007 Preventing Wrong Site Surgery
July 2007 Fees Paid for the East Anesthesia Services: 2007 Survey Results
June 2007 Staffing Costs and Underutilized Operating Rooms
May 2007 Pay for Participation In Medicare’s Physician Quality Reporting Initiative
April 2007 Anesthesiology Practice Costs, Revenues and Production Survey Data
March 2007 Anesthesia Information Systems…Where Awareness Is Good!
February 2007 Anesthesia Carts: New Federal Regulation Aligns With ASA Policy
January 2007 Medicare Conversion Factors and Coding Changes for 2007

 

2006
   
December 2006 Anesthesiology Is in the P4P Game
November 2006 Compensating Nonclinical Time
October 2006 Accountability
September 2006 Medicare Proposes More Cuts in Payments to Specialists
August 2006 Pros and Cons of Exclusive Contracts
July 2006 Preoperative Pregnancy Testing: Mandatory or Elective?
June 2006 What’s Wrong With Your Anesthesiology Group Retirement Plan?
May 2006 Medicare, We Have a Fraud Problem
April 2006 Balance Billing When You Don’t Have a Contract with the Health Plan
March 2006 10,198 Units Per Physician: MGMA/ASA Survey, 2005 Report
February 2006 Customers of the Anesthesiology Group: Notes From 2006 Conference on Practice Management
January 2006 Laws, Legislation, Regulations: What’s in a Name?

 

2005
 
December 2005 Conversion Factor and Coding Changes for 2006
November 2005 SCIP Who?
October 2005 Gainsharing: What Every Anesthesiologist Needs to Know
September 2005 Quality Management Tools for the Anesthesia Department
August 2005 Fees Paid for Anesthesia Services: 2005 Survey Results
July 2005 Public Reporting of Performance Data
June 2005 Rejecting a Bad Payer Contract
May 2005 Locked Anesthesia Carts: CMS Proposes to Change the Rule (At Last!)
April 2005 Hospital Contracts Survey: 2004 Data
March 2005 CMS Relaxes Rule on Postanesthesia Notes
February 2005 Complying With the HIPAA Security Rule
January 2005 Pay-for-Performance: The Hot Health Policy Topic of 2005
   
2004
 
December 2004 Medicare Releases 2005 Anesthesia Conversion Factors
November 2004 Another Way to Attract the Attention of the U.S. Attorney
October 2004 Falling Short and Going Too Far: A Tale of Two Hospitals
September 2004 The Cost of Inefficient O.R. Utilization
August 2004 Performance Evaluations
July 2004

Exclusive Contracts Not Always Lawful After All?
June 2004 How Many Rooms Do We Need?
May 2004 Stark II Rules
April 2004 Locum Tenens Anesthesiologists: New Medicare Payment Policy
March 2004 Negotiating With Hospital Administrators Part II: Conducting an Effective Negotiation
February 2004 2004 Medicare Conversion Factors and JCAHO Wrong-Site Surgery Protocol
January 2004 Negotiating With Hospital Administrators
   
2003
   
December 2003 Changes in Anesthesia and Pain Medicine Coding for 2004
November 2003 Postoperative Epidural Management in 2004
October 2003 HIPAA Transactions Rule Deadline Looms
September 2003 OIG Approves Hospital-Physician Joint Ventures
August 2003 Fees Paid for Anesthesia Services: 2003 Survey Results
July 2003 Anesthesia Groups Must Not Jointly Set Hospital Stipends
June 2003

HIPAA-Compliant Claims – Test Now
May 2003 Creative Scheduling for Anesthesiologists: Physician Retention in a Tight Market (Part II, Designing a Part-Time Work System)
April 2003 2003 Medicare Anesthesia Conversion Factor Is $17.05
March 2003 Creative Scheduling for Anesthesiologists: Physician Retention in a Tight Market (Part I, Survey Results)
February 2003 Medicare Anesthesia Conversion Factor Takes a 3.43-Percent Hit
January 2003 Is Your Billing System Ready for HIPAA?
   
2002
 
December 2002 Informed Consent Is More than a Signature
November 2002

Anesthesia and Pain Medicine Coding Changes for 2003
October 2002 Medicare Is Still the Wrong Benchmark
September 2002 Survey of Hospital Administrators About Anesthesia Coverage
August 2002 Understanding the New Aetna
July 2002 Reimbursement Negotiations: A Few Practical Suggestions
June 2002

Negotiating a Managed Care Contract for Anesthesia: Beyond the Conversion Factor
May 2002 HIPAA Extension; Privacy Rule Changes
April 2002 Lessons From ASA's Anesthesia Consultation Program
March 2002 Sedation and the Need for Anesthesia Personnel
February 2002 Preoperative Visits – Should I Bill for Them?
January 2002 Coding Changes for 2002
   

2001
   
December 2001 Medicare Cuts Physician Payments for 2002
November 2001 Deadline Approaches for Finalization of Nurse Anesthetist Supervision Rule
October 2001 HIPAA Fundamentals for Anesthesiologists
September 2001 Fees Paid for Anesthesia Services: 2001 Survey Results
August 2001 Hospital Contracts, Four Years Later
July 2001 How Much is Medicare Spending on Anesthesia Services?
May 2001 Evaluating a New Ambulatory Surgical Center Opportunity
April 2001 Top Medicare Billing Risks For Anesthesiologists in 2001
March 2001 Labor Epidurals and Billing Methods
February 2001 Real 2001 National Medicare Conversion Factor: $17.83, Up From $17.26
January 2001 Medicare Approves New Anesthesia Codes and Base Units
   
2000
   
December 2000 Critical Care and Pain Code Payment Changes
November 2000 OIG Publishes Final Compliance Guidance for Small Group Physician Practices
October 2000 When Medicare Carriers Suspect a Problem: 'Medical Review'
September 2000 ‘Medical Supervision’ Payment Revisited; Critical Care Code Relative Values Increased in Proposed Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for 2001
August 2000 Compliance Programs for Physician Practices: OIG Publishes Guidance
July 2000 Medicare Provides Guidance on Voluntary Refunds of 'Overpayments'
June 2000 Errors and Omissions Insurance Help to Shield Against Fraud and Abuse Liability
May 2000 Prison Sentence for Anesthesiologist's Billing Fraud
April 2000 Rent Charged by Hospitals for Office Space Raises Legal Issues
March 2000 Miscellany: Pain, Critical Care and Preop Services
February 2000 New Rules on Investing in an Ambulatory Surgical Center
January 2000 Residents May Join Labor Unions
   
1999
   
December 1999 Major Pain Management CPT-4 Code Changes for 2000
November 1999 False Claims Act Lawsuit Settles for $3.2 Million
October 1999 'Bundling' Invasive Lines: Anesthesiologists Take on the Payers
September 1999 Greater Hope for Physician Unions?
August 1999 Fees Paid for Anesthesia Services: 1999 Survey Results
July 1999 Have You Tested Your Y2K Readiness?
June 1999 Getting More From Your Billing Operation
May 1999 Employing Nurse Anesthetists Part II: Cost/Revenue Analysis
April 1999 Employing Nurse Anesthetists Part I: A Survery of Anesthesiologists
March 1999 Enforcement - The Hammer You Never Want
February 1999 Pain Management: Billing Epidural Steriods or Nerve Blocks Together With a Visit or a Consult
January 1999 Should You Ever Voluntarily Disclose Medicare Billing Problems?
   
1998
   
December 1998 Get Ready for Y2K
November 1998 Should You Invest in An Ambulatory Surgical Center?
October 1998 A Look in the Statistical Mirror
September 1998 'Black Box Edits' May Allow Medicare to Bounce More Claims
August 1998 Free Care: What Does the Law Require?
July 1998 Redesigning the Group's Income Distribution System
June 1998 'How Much per Unit?' and Other Important Contract Terms Federation Meeting on E&M Documentation Guidelines Raises Questions, Answers Others
May 1998 When Nurse Anesthetists Unionize
April 1998 Federal Prosecutor, Medicare Medical Director and Others Address 500 Anesthesiologists in San Antonio, Texas
March 1998 Why Can't We Form A Union?
February 1998 Resisting Payment Cuts and Unwanted Contracts
January 1998 Anesthesia's Fair Share of a Fee Schedule Based on Medicare
   

1997

   
December 1997 Billing Medicare for Independent Contractors
November 1997 Billing for Labor Epidurals Varies Greatly
October 1997 Fraud and Abuse Saga Continues
September 1997 A Survey of Conversion Factors, Capitation Rates
August 1997 Setting Up a Quality Improvement Program
 July 1997 How Many Anesthesia Practices Have Exclusive Contracts?
June 1997 ASA Analyzes Commercial Relative Value System Based on Average Time
May 1997  Professional Courtesy Discounts May Constitute Fraud
April 1997  Anesthesiolgists' Earnings and Productivity
March 1997 Hospital Consulting Firm Advocates Greater Autonomy for Nurse Anesthetists
February 1997  How to Appeal a Medicare Decision
January 1997  Maryland Merger Passes DOJ's Antitrust Muster
   

1996

   
December 1996  Medicare Carrier Advisory Committees: An Important Resource
November 1996  Changes to the Medicare Fraud and Abuse Rules
October 1996  New Antitrust Guidelines Issued for Physician Networks
September 1996  Shift in Medicare Localities Will Affect Conversion Factors
August 1996  Ophthalmologist Convicted of Fraudulent Billing, Sentenced to Prison Time
July 1996  Loss of Hospital Privileges and the Protection of the Medical Staff Bylaws
June 1996  The Minnesota Lawsuits: HCFA's Reimbursement Policy
May 1996  Justice Department Disapproves Group Network