CMS to Release Podiatry Services Comparative Billing Report

In April 2011, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will release its fifth national provider Comparative Billing Report (CBR).  The purpose of this CBR is to inform podiatric providers of billing information for selected services billed to Medicare and to help prevent improper payments.  The data in this report illustrates peer comparisons of debridement codes billed, Evaluation and Management (E/M) high level code use, and the number of patients billed per day in both the office and Skilled Nursing Facility settings.  The CBRs will be released to approximately 5000 podiatry providers nationwide.

The CBRs, produced by SafeGuard Services under contract with CMS, provide comparative data on how an individual healthcare provider compares to other providers by looking at utilization patterns for services, beneficiaries, and diagnoses billed.  CMS has received feedback from a number of providers that this kind of data is very helpful to them and encouraged us to produce more CBRs and make them available to providers.  These reports are not available to anyone but the provider who receives them.  To ensure privacy, CMS presents only summary billing information.  No patient- or case-specific data is included.  These reports are an example of a tool that helps providers comply with Medicare billing rules and improve the level of care they furnish to their Medicare patients.

For more information and to review a sample of the Podiatry CBR, please visit the CBR Services website at www.CBRServices.com or call the SafeGuard Services’ Provider Help Desk, CBR Support Team at 530-896-7080.

Dallas L Alford IV, CPA is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the state of North Carolina and owner of Atlantic Financial Consulting, a consulting firm that provides comprehensive medical billing services, practice management consulting, coding audits, Medicare compliance, Medicare RAC support and other general medical practice consulting services.
To learn more about Atlantic Financial Consulting you may visit their website at http://atlanticfinancial.us or contact Dallas L Alford IV, CPA directly at 1 888-428-2555, Ext. 200.