2010 PMI National Conference for Medical Office Professionals

Inside The Sessions
General Sessions | Coding Track | Reimbursement Track | Management Track | Schedule

May 19, 2010

Special Pre-Conference Compliance Challenge:

Defensive Driving for the Medical Practice

We work in one of the highest regulated industries. Each day that passes without a cohesive compliance plan in place means greater potential of staggering fines and penalties if the practice is audited. Everyone in the office plays an integral part in maintaining compliance. The financial viability of your practice is at stake. The best way to avoid compliance problems is to take a proactive stance.

Get ready for a compliance challenge. Dubbed Defensive Driving for the Medical Practice, PMI’s all new interactive session will take participants through the bumpy road of compliance by way of an Internal Operations Audit and provide a roadmap based on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service’s 7 Step Compliance Program. This intensive learning session is appropriate for all physician coding, billing and office management professionals.

Our compliance experts will dissect and explain all the pieces that makeup the compliance puzzle. OSHA, CLIA, HIPAA, NCQA, MICS, OIG and much more. Participants will explore compliance as applicable to their job functions. By the end of the session, participants will have a plan in hand to take back to the practice and modify as needed.

How It Works

Pre-conference is especially for managers and anyone involved in the compliance process for the medical office. The group will work together to build the seven components of their compliance plan. Participants will leave with everything needed to implement a comprehensive compliance program for their practice.

Each area will include Q & A with the experts. Hands-on, problem-solving skills.

May 20-21, 2010

General Sessions

Keynote Presentation

ICD-10 Smooth Transition
Nancy Maguire, ACS, PCS, FCS, HCS-D, CRT
You can transition smoothly into ICD-10 with expert advice from the nation’s top coding expert! Review implementation timelines to help you plan and discover early adoption methods to help make the whole process a lot easier. What challenges does your practice have? Take the stress out of the picture. We’ll show you how preparation equals success not only with ICD-10, but also in everything you do. You won’t want to miss a minute of Keynote Speaker and nationally-known coding expert, Nancy Maguire. She will show you how to improve task management skills and create balance in your job.

Health Care Reform 2010 and Beyond – Town Hall Meeting
This is an opportunity for participants to ask questions and receive answers from a panel of experts on the current status of healthcare reform in the U.S. This session will help you better plan for the changes ahead. Up-to-date, interactive discussions of recent governmental recommendations and their impact on physician practices. This session will be an interactive Town Hall format. Bring your questions and get answers on future physician reimbursement and insurance reform.

Emerging Opportunities in Healthcare
Take a look at the future of healthcare. Our conference chair will share valuable insight into the next generation of medicine. Those who embrace new ideas can improve the practice’s financial outlook. Those that don’t may get left behind. We will explore emerging concepts in Telehealth, transparency in healthcare, new communication paths, evolution of the medical home concept and much more.

Physician-focused Faculty Q&A Panel Discussion
Each year, our faculty gathers to address participant questions in a final wrap-up session. This year’s theme will focus on questions from your physicians. We always hear participants say they wish their physician had attended the sessions to hear what our faculty has to say about documentation, coding solutions, compliance, AR, audits, and more. Before you attend this year’s conference, make a point to jot down a few of your physician’s top questions. Our moderator and faculty panel will address as many of your questions as thoroughly as possible or direct you to a possible solution that you can take back for your physician.

Coding Track ^top

Chart Auditing Challenge
The workshop is designed for the attendee who has a basic understanding of chart auditing and is performing them in their practice. This session includes hands-on exercises to develop and refresh current auditing skills. The program includes a review of the evaluation and management coding guidelines. The primary focus of this session will be to optimize reimbursement through compliant strategies, focusing on the chart auditing and analysis processes. Additionally, the workshop will assist in communicating audit results to providers in a positive manner that will effect change.

Coding for Wound Care, Infectious & Parasitic Diseases
This session will provide an overview of the coding and billing requirements for wound care and infectious & parasitic diseases. Discussions include how infectious diseases are different from chronic wounds, appropriate linkage of ICD-9 and CPT codes and an overview of local medical review policies. The attendee will learn the difference between wound care and debridement coding (a RAC identified error). The workshop will guide the attendee through development of a wound care billing policy and procedure for their office.

Avoid Denials, Understand Medical Necessity, CCI Edits and Bundling
If you are stuck processing insurance underpayments and denials for bundling then you will help you save your practice thousands of dollars in needless appeals, making room for cost efficient appeals for those services that are legitimate, correct claims. Review the rationale behind the NCCI edits. Recovery Audit Contractors (RACs) are uncovering many instances of services deemed to be not medically necessary. Receive urgent information on documentation that substantiates medical necessity and correct coding for maximum reimbursement.

Coding Roundtables
This session is just what you’ve been waiting for. This in-depth, hands-on coding session was created at the request of many of our past conference participants. This session offers a multi-specialty challenge for experienced coders. We work together to uncover solutions to our examples in CPT, ICD-9, and HCPCS areas. Prepare for more in-depth, clinically-specific information that will soon be required for medical necessity. Work problem code sets and discuss current issues in coding.

Critical Issues in Coding
Stay on top of coding changes affecting you and ensure the overall financial health of your practice! You will learn the appropriate use of the AI modifier and the coding guidelines for MRSA. We will discuss the distinction between Category I and II codes and the way they impact the future of CPT coding. Are you aware of the effect that Medicare’s consult code elimination has had on other carriers? This session will examine the most current issues impacting the medical coding field today.

Current Coding Challenges Answered
This is your opportunity to submit those questions concerning coding and insurance reimbursement that take up a portion of your working day. Everyone has questions and often it is difficult to find a definitive answer to your specific situation. In this session, we will address topics concerning coding and reimbursement that affect your everyday effectiveness of getting the proper reimbursement for your providers.

Reimbursement Track ^top

Carrier Survival Strategies
With each year comes new challenges in working with insurance carriers. Have you had the experience of credentialing a new provider recently, or using the PECOS system implemented by CMS? If so, you probably have a story to tell of the "hoops" that providers must "jump through" to effectively communicate with the carriers. This session will present "real life" carrier survival strategies to help you maneuver through the systems. Our providers work hard to provide their services and deserve to be paid without a hassle. Learn how you can work with the resources that are available to insure that the reimbursement process is successful.

Superior Collections
With rising numbers of underinsured patients, shrinking reimbursement and rising costs you need to fight for every dollar rightfully due to the practice. Arm yourself with the training and tools to effectively communicate so that conversations around money and collecting are natural and stress-free for you. This session will help you become fluent in the language of collections, improve your level of confidence when asking for money, and provide you with proven techniques to offer workable alternatives, or payment arrangements as necessary and appropriate. Participants will hear straight talk and learn direct strategies to address up-to-the-minute collection concerns

How to Effectively Process Appeals & Respond to Refund Requests
Approximately 30-35% of physicians carry denied claims all the way through the appeals process. When they do, they win their appeal about 70% of the time. Is it worth it? You could be leaving important dollars on the table. Learn the tips and techniques you need to navigate the appeals process and turn a denied claim into a paid claim. We will also review your rights and responsibilities when responding to refund requests.

Medicaid Integrity Contractors – The Newest Government Contractor Interested in Auditing Your Billing Records.
When will it stop? Program SafeGuard Contractors (PSCs), Zone Program Integrity Contractors (ZPICs), Recovery Audit Contractors (RACs) and now Medicaid Integrity Contractors (MICs). Authorized as part of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, MICs are now coming to the forefront in many states, engaging in audits and review of Medicaid claims. This presentation will provide an overview of the MIC program, how they are funded and how to respond if your practice is notified of an audit. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. MIC audits are here to stay.

Billing Without Consult Codes
Who benefits from Medicare’s elimination of consultation codes? Is there a positive or negative affect on your practice? If the results are negative, now what? Need to know the answers to these questions and how this change affects your bottom line? This workshop will benefit office managers, coders and billers by providing answers to these questions and identifying the most effective response to this change in reimbursement.

The Future of Non-Physician Practitioner Billing
NPPs are a growing trend in the healthcare industry. They not only increase patient accessibility to your practice, but can be a profitable revenue stream. Are they a cost center or a revenue stream in your practice? To get your practice on the right track, this session will address Evaluation & Management documentation guidelines and billing guidelines specific to NPPs. Don’t be a target for RACS! We will also discuss the reason that Incident To errors are on the Top Ten list of billing errors the RACs have identified.

Management Track ^top

Protecting Your Practice from Workplace Environmental Hazards
You will see your practice through a new set of eyes after attending this session. Get essential information on worker safety and health protection. We will review guidelines for establishing and maintaining a safe occupational environment for the employees through a safety program that incorporates the following required OSHA plans: Exposure Control Plan, Exposure Incident Plan, Hazard Communication Plan, and Emergency Action Plan.

EMR Panel – Real Life Stories
Hear from real life medical office professionals who have survived the EMR conversion. The workshop includes an update on implementation, financing and financial incentives available. Penalties in 2015 for Medicare providers. This is the trend, these are the incentives, these are the penalties. See ARRA text – terminology from the government. Get your piece of the American Recovery pie. Moderated by David T. Womack, Executive Vice President of PMI.

Validate the Effectiveness of a Compliance Plan
This workshop is designed to assist participants with solutions to some of today’s complex issues in the world of healthcare compliance and provide the attendee with a basis for evaluating their compliance plan. The workshop includes discussions relating to review and implementation of policies to ensure compliance with regulatory agencies and recognizing red flags your practice may be sending.

Practice Financials – Getting to the Bottom Line
Do you feel like your practice has hit "rock bottom"? Is the economic downturn dictating how you manage your finances? If so, you are not alone. Learn how to collect and evaluate data, understand benchmarking, and utilize reports to help you discern your level of operational efficiency and track physician productivity. Every practice manager needs the tools revealed in this session. Learn to implement strategies that will take your practice to the next dimension.

Guard Your Practice Against Medical Identity Theft
Medical Identity theft is a growing problem. Getting to know the different aspects of medical identity theft is the first step to minimizing practice risk. Limit liability and put a plan in place to address this serious issue. Also get to know more about the new Hitech Act. With frivolous lawsuits choking the system, it’s now more important than ever to protect yourself, your patients and your practice.

Physician Credentialing
This session will address specific issues of managed care physician credentialing. Learn the rationale and process for successful registration. Receive instruction for applying with a Managed Care Organization. Watch for potential problems with registration errors, including denials for services. Includes an overview of credentialing organizations. Get guidance on what they are looking for and how to market with MCOs.

Inside The SessionsGeneral Sessions | Coding Track | Reimbursement Track | Management Track | Schedule