More than you think! If you hear a song by Van Halen, and remember the band, (and after a short and un-scientific survey of my team at the corporate office, that is a rapidly declining number!) you probably think of frontman David Lee Roth. In the 1980’s, he gained a reputation as temperamental and self-indulgent … Continued
About 25 years ago I was hired to assist a wound center in Sherman Oaks as it moved away from its management company, Curative. It was one of the first instances of a hospital insourcing their wound center and canceling their management contract. To say that the process was contentious would be a gross understatement. … Continued
20 years ago, I founded Wound Care Advantage with the goal of supporting hospital-based wound centers so they could avoid the costs of management companies and better treat the patients they serve. Over the years we’ve had a lot of successes, made many mistakes, and learned a lot of lessons. To celebrate, we’re launching 20 … Continued
“Why does outpatient wound care need so much community education when none of our other service lines do? Can’t we just use hospital physician liaisons?”
Last week, we discussed the “Site-Neutral Rule,” which would reduce Evaluation and Management charges for off-campus outpatient programs, including wound care and hyperbaric medicine centers. This week, 38 Hospitals sued Health and Human Services (HHS), challenging the rule. The lawsuit alleges that HHS Secretary Alex Azar exceeded his authority when this rule was implemented January 1, 2019.
In the final rule released in 2018 for 2019, CMS decided to reduce the E&M Level reimbursement for all off-campus departments of the hospital, including exempted centers. This reduction only affects CPT code G0463. If you have an off-campus provider-based department of the hospital, you will now be reimbursed 70% of the OPPS rate for 2019 with further reduction down to 40% in 2020.
The OIG released the results of a MAC audit report on Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) services. Based on the sample charts, they estimated there were over $39 million in HBOT overpayments for the sample year alone in this jurisdiction.
Shortly after I founded Wound Care Advantage more than 15 years ago, Bob Trautman, CEO of Lancaster Community Hospital, took a chance on us. He signed our first wound center contract and we started what became a long and rewarding partnership.
After three years of development, we are proud and excited to finally introduce our new wound center operating system; Luvo. With that said, the question remains; Why Luvo? More than 20 years ago, I was trusted with building and operating the first wound center I had ever worked in. Let’s be honest, being a program … Continued
It was my last day of High School. We would be graduating the next day, and somehow, by the skin of my teeth, I had made it through. The question was, what’s next? City College seemed possible, however with my attention issues and poor grades, a four year university was not on the agenda, and … Continued