Summary: The anesthesia community is anxiously awaiting some word on Medicare payment rates for 2021, and providers are wondering how the second wave of COVID will affect their overall income in the coming year. Despite all this uncertainty, there remains reason for hope.There is nothing more unsettling than not knowing. That is especially true whe...
Summary: Given all the changes taking place in medicine, the specialty of anesthesia is often on the cutting edge with new approaches and strategies. Today's crisis is opioids. The response of a growing number of those in the anesthesia specialty is opioid-free anesthesia. It is a very worthy objective, but the question is whether it has more ...
Summary: It's back to the chalkboard as we continue our review of the teaching rules for anesthesia providers. In today's article, we will focus primarily on case configuration, payment issues and documentation requirements. So, open up your notebooks and have your pencils at the ready! Two weeks ago, we presented the first in a two-part ser...
Summary: Medicare now allows payment for acupuncture, as well as dry needling. The difference between these two treatment techniques may be confusing to some pain practitioners. Today's article will address these differences and the requirements for billing.We can all learn something from each other. Eastern healing and Western medicine—the ke...
The majority of our clients do not work in facilities that have an anesthesia electronic medical record (EMR). Despite some early trepidation about the transition from a paper record to an EMR, most installations have gone fairly smoothly. The majority of our clients report that they are reasonably happy with the new system. As is so often the case...