June 13, 2011
American Society of Anesthesiologics members have acess to an up-to-date set of policy templates and implementationforms that will help their hopsitals satisfy The Join Commission's requirements for anesthesia services.

June 6, 2011
The deadline for submitting at least ten Medicare claims for services involving an electronic prescription (eRx) is just 25 days from now.

May 31, 2011
Although anesthesiology has one of the highest rates of participation in the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI, now the Physician Quality Reporting System or PQRS), the specialty also has one of the highest error rates in reporting—nearly 50 percent.

May 23, 2011
Anesthesia and pain medicine practice managers who keep up with the National Correct Coding Initiative already know of an important change that went into effect on April 1, 2011...

May 16, 2011
An increasing number of anesthesia groups struggle with getting the younger partners engaged in leadership roles.

May 9, 2011
Several hundred anesthesiologists, including a generous proportion of residents, came to Washington D.C. last week to participate in the annual Legislative Conference organized by the American Society of Anesthesiologists.

May 2, 2011
The Medicare and Medicaid programs continue to lose large amounts of money to fraud and abuse. In 2010, the amount recovered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) exceeded $4 billion.

April 25, 2011
Anesthesiologists had the second-highest rate of participation in the PQRS (then known as the PQRI, or Physician Quality Reporting Initiative) in 2009. Nearly 17,500 anesthesiologists, or 41.1% of those eligible, reported PQRS measures on their Medicare claims.

April 18, 2011
This Alert is for readers who need a basic familiarity with the 5010, in time for the compliance deadline, i.e., January 1, 2012.

April 11, 2011
It is no surprise that on March 31, 2011 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released its long-awaited Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding the Medicare Shared Savings Program (the Shared Savings Program) and ACOs

April 4, 2011
On Thursday, March 31, 2011, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) provided the health care community with some much needed guidance by publishing its Proposed Rule regarding the Medicare Shared Savings Program and its Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs).

March 28, 2011
To those readers who have not yet attended an AAA conference, we highly recommend that you place it on your agenda for 2012.

March 21, 2011
What Should Anesthesiologists Know About the RACs?

March 14, 2011
Getting Paid for Post-Anesthesia Visits

March 7, 2011
When Patients Are Responsible for a Large Portion of Their Anesthesia Bill

February 28, 2011
Balance Billing Anesthesia Patients Who Go Out of Network

February 21, 2011
Did Medicare Underpay Your Anesthesia Practice in 2010?

February 14, 2011
Three Significant Changes to the Interpretive Guidelines for Anesthesia Services

February 7, 2011
Constitutionality of Healthcare Reform; Significance for Anesthesiologists

January 31, 2011
Anesthesia and E&M Services and the RACs