Summary: While general surveys of anesthesia practice compensation may have some value, it is more important to assess what would cause a provider to want to join your group or to leave your group. Those potential causes are analyzed in today's alert.One of the most perplexing challenges in the current anesthesia market is determining what is a fai...

Summary: The rules surrounding the use of ABNs for Medicare beneficiaries are robust and readily available. When non-Medicare patients present with non-covered services, however, the provider will find that the notification rules are anything but uniform. Care will have to be exercised to follow the diverse provisions of each payer's expectations.T...

Summary: The anesthesia specialty is critical to America's overall healthcare system. However, according to a newly released study, the nation is facing a growing dearth of anesthesia providers. The hot topic of the day is the shortage in anesthesia manpower. Not since the 1990s with the publication of the Abt Corporation report has there been suc...

Summary:  The goal of every anesthesia practice is financial and strategic independence. This allows practices to pursue clinical and business opportunities that will support their ongoing financial viability. The problem is that, for some practices, the impact of deteriorating payer mix, declining volume, and unreasonable coverage and call r...

Summary:Medicare Guidelines limiting the place of service for a number of common procedures changed in 2020. Of these, the total hip has been the most significant. The migration of these cases from inpatient to outpatient venues proves to be a useful and relevant case study.As the premier provider of outsourced billing and management information to...

Summary:  Common wisdom is one thing, but looking at the raw data gives us a more accurate perspective on the reality of the situation. Today's alert dives into the numbers and reveals trends regarding age, gender and case type.The prevailing view among most anesthesia providers is that their patient populations are slowly aging. According to...

Summary: Every now and then, we need a little help from our friends. It's no surprise, then, that we occasionally come across two anesthesia providers in the same operating room at the same time. What does this mean from a compliance and compensation standpoint? Today's article dishes on the details.In his heyday, no one was more proficient a...

SummaryWhat are the typical services performed by non-physician practitioners, such as physician assistants, within a chronic pain practice, and is there a way to optimize their value to the group? Those are the questions today's article will explore.In last week's e-alert, we discussed the various policy issues associated with the use of nurse pra...

SummaryDiscussion continues on how to address the labor needs in the specialty of anesthesia, which is projected to worsen as the US population (and anesthesia physician population) ages. Community-based residency programs—common in internal medicine, family practice, pediatrics and OB-GYN—may help the specialty of anesthesiology address these need...

Summary:  There are several new rules for 2021 that either directly or peripherally involve the practice of anesthesia or interventional pain. This article lists some of the provisions found in the 2021 Medicare PFS Final Rule that will be of interest to many of our readers. In previous weeks, we have attempted to summarize for you some of th...

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: The requirements for participation and billing in the teaching setting are somewhat complex and often misunderstood. Many are uncertain about what they are allowed to do and to bill. In this two-part series, we hope to provide greater compliance insight to those working with residents and student nurses.In contradistinction to the Bri...

Summary: The big question everyone is asking these days is what will the new normal be like. Clearly COVID-19 has had a dramatic impact on all anesthesia practices. Only time will tell which of today's challenges will result in new ways of providing care and managing practices.One of the most interesting outcomes of the Great Depression was th...

Summary: With the approach of mid-May, we felt it important to get a snapshot of what anesthesia practices are experiencing and expecting as it concerns the resumption of pre-COVID surgery volumes. To facilitate this, we asked our clients to participate in a survey. The results are in, and some are quite interesting.One of the things that neve...

Summary:A closer look at the actual impact of the coronavirus on anesthesia practices is both dispiriting and enlightening. While the short-term impact is traumatic, the long-term prognosis is not so bleak.Over the course of its history as a specialty, anesthesia has been the subject of many legislative and financial challenges, including Medicare ...

SUMMARY: The coronavirus (COVID) crisis currently assailing the citizens of the United States is not uniform in its coverage or consistent in its severity. While it is true that every state has reported residents with the ailment, some regions and cities are being hit harder than others. Only last Mondaydid Wyoming see its first fatality from ...

SummaryGroups don't always understand the requirements of the locum tenens arrangement. Who can be a locum? How long can their services be used? In what way can we utilize them? These are questions we hope to answer for our readers in today's article."Lawd, I was born a ramblin' man. Trying to make a living and doing the best I can. But when it's t...

SummaryMost anesthesia practices accept the need to provide key surgeons two 'flip' rooms so they can be more efficient and productive; but how does this requirement impact the anesthesia practice? Most do not really know but it is an important question.Traditionally, anesthesia staffing has involved the assignment of a provider—either a physician ...

Summary The relationship between an anesthesia practice and the hospital administration can become challenging, especially when the negotiation of a hospital contract involves the determination of financial support. While it is true that sometimes the parties cannot come to terms and the administration must employ the providers, this is the e...

Summary To maintain momentum, anesthesia groups must place a priority on preparing the next generation for leadership. How can that best be accomplished? Today's article provides some helpful suggestions. So many of the client groups we serve are fortunate to have strong and able leaders. We see evidence of this as we meet with our clients, listen...