Auditing the Medicare-billing practices of teaching physicians--welcome accountability, unfair approach

The Intertwined Histories of Resident Education and Pediatric Hospital Medicine in the US

The histories of pediatric resident education and pediatric hospital medicine (PHM) are intertwined. PHM, now a new subspecialty, is generally considered to have emerged from the hospitalist movement in the late 1990s but is actually what some influential pediatricians in the 19th century envisioned for pediatrics in the United States, comparable to the British model. The prime focus of resident education during the 20th century remained hospital care, even during the years of national concern regarding the need for more primary care physicians. Various changes in resident education have contributed to the rise of PHM as a subspecialty. Requirements for subspecialty certification in PHM have implications for general residency training in pediatrics.

Education in Neurology Resident Documentation Using Payroll Simulation

BACKGROUND

Approaches for teaching neurology documentation include didactic lectures, workshops, and face-to-face meetings. Few studies have assessed their effectiveness.

OBJECTIVE

To improve the quality of neurology resident documentation through payroll simulation.

METHODS

A documentation checklist was created based on Medicaid and Medicare evaluation and management (E/M) guidelines. In the preintervention phase, neurology follow-up clinic charts were reviewed over a 16-week period by evaluators blinded to the notes' authors. Current E/M level, ideal E/M level, and financial loss were calculated by the evaluators. Ideal E/M level was defined as the highest billable level based on the documented problems, alongside a supporting history and examination. We implemented an educational intervention that consisted of a 1-hour didactic lecture, followed by e-mail feedback "paystubs" every 2 weeks detailing the number of patients seen, income generated, income loss, and areas for improvement. Follow-up charts were assessed in a similar fashion over a 16-week postintervention period.

RESULTS

Ten of 11 residents (91%) participated. Of 214 charts that were reviewed preintervention, 114 (53%) had insufficient documentation to support the ideal E/M level, leading to a financial loss of 24% ($5,800). Inadequate documentation was seen in all 3 components: history (47%), examination (27%), and medical decision making (37%). Underdocumentation did not differ across residency years. Postintervention, underdocumentation was reduced to 14% of 273 visits (P < .001), with a reduction in the financial loss to 6% ($1,880).

CONCLUSIONS

Improved documentation and increased potential reimbursement was attained following a didactic lecture and a 16-week period in which individual, specific feedback to neurology residents was provided.

Does the Use of Standardized History and Physical Forms Improve Billable Income and Resident Physician Awareness of Billing Codes?

OBJECTIVES

Resident physician knowledge of financial reimbursement guidelines for patient encounters is limited. We determined whether the use of standardized history and physical examination forms by residents for hospital admissions plus a brief lecture would increase the level of billing codes, increase billable income, and increase resident awareness of billing guidelines.

METHODS

Residents used history and physical examination forms after a brief documentation lecture. Pretrial and posttrial surveys measured awareness of billing guidelines. The admission billing codes for a 6-month period were obtained, and the percentages were compared with a control 6-month period.

RESULTS

There was an absolute increase of 14.5% in the highest code between the two study periods (P < 0.0001). Billable income increased by $10,385. Resident documentation awareness also increased (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

The use of history and physical examination forms, combined with a brief lecture, significantly increased the percentage of highest billing codes, which increased billable income. Resident awareness of documentation requirements significantly improved.

Fluoxetine during pregnancy: impact on fetal development

Women are at greatest risk of suffering from depression during the childbearing years and thus may either become pregnant while taking an antidepressant or may require a prescription for one during pregnancy. The antidepressant fluoxetine (FX) is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), which increases serotonin neurotransmission. Serotonin is involved in the regulation of a variety of physiological systems, including the sleep–wake cycle, circadian rhythms and the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis. Each of these systems also plays an important role in fetal development. Compared with other antidepressant drugs, the SSRIs, such as FX, have fewer side effects. Because of this, they are now frequently prescribed, especially during pregnancy. Clinical studies suggest poor neonatal outcome after exposure to FX in utero. Recent studies in the sheep fetus describe the physiological effects of in utero exposure to FX with an 8 day infusion during late gestation in the sheep. This is a useful model for determining the effects of FX on fetal physiology. The fetus can be studied for weeks in its normal intrauterine environment with serial sampling of blood, thus permitting detailed studies of drug disposition in both mother and fetus combined with monitoring of fetal behavioural state and cardiovascular function. Fluoxetine causes an acute increase in plasma serotonin levels, leading to a transient reduction in uterine blood flow. This, in turn, reduces the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the fetus, thereby presenting a mechanism for reducing growth and/or eliciting preterm delivery. Moreover, because FX crosses the placenta, the fetus is exposed directly to FX, as well as to the effects of the drug on the mother. Fluoxetine increases high-voltage/non-rapid eye movement behavioural state in the fetus after both acute and chronic exposure and, thus, may interfere with normal fetal neurodevelopment. Fluoxetine also alters hypothalamic function in the adult and increases the magnitude of the prepartum rise in fetal cortisol concentrations in sheep. Fetal FX exposure does not alter fetal circadian rhythms in melatonin or prolactin. Studies of the effects of FX exposure on fetal development in the sheep are important in defining possible physiological mechanisms that explain human clinical studies of birth outcomes after FX exposure. To date, there have been insufficient longer-term follow-up studies in any precocial species of offspring exposed to SSRIs in utero. Thus, further investigation of the long-term consequences of in utero exposure to FX and other SSRIs, as well as the mechanisms involved, are required for a complete understanding of the impact of these agents on development. This should involve studies in both humans and appropriate animal models.

Medicare reimbursement policy and teaching physicians' behavior in hospital clinics: the changes of 1996

PURPOSE

To determine the frequency of attending physicians' contacts with residents' patients in hospital-based outpatient clinics and changes in these practices after June 1996.

METHOD

Using data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys, 1993 to 1997, the author determined the numbers and characteristics of residents' patients in hospital-based outpatient clinics and the proportions of these patients also seen by a staff physician before and after the date new explicit national guidelines for Medicare Part B reimbursement (IL-372) took effect (July 1, 1996). Logistic regression models were used to identify patients' and clinics' attributes associated with a higher chance of a resident's patient's also being seen by a staff physician and changes after June 30, 1996.

RESULTS

From 1993 to 1997, residents saw about 15,000,000 hospital-based clinic outpatients each year. Overall, 45% of residents' patients also saw a staff physician. The odds that a resident's patient would also see a staff physician varied substantially among patients seen in different regions of the country, types of clinics, and patients' sociodemographic characteristics. Overall, after July 1, 1996, the odds that a resident's patient would also see a staff physician increased significantly (odds ratio 1.64, 95% CI = 1.11 to 2.41), but the proportion of Medicare-insured patients who also saw a staff physician did not increase significantly.

CONCLUSION

The proportion of residents' patients also seen by a staff physician increased after June 1996. The lack of a similar significant increase for patients 65 and over with Medicare suggests that the more explicit and stricter interpretation of Medicare regulations did not primarily affect Medicare-insured patients but rather changed the process of care for all clinic patients.

Effects of billing and documentation requirements on the quantity and quality of teaching by attending physicians

PURPOSE

The Health Care Financing Administration's guidelines for billing and documentation by attending physicians have increased the amount of time that attending physicians spend documenting the services that they provide for patients. This study assessed the impact of these guidelines on attending physicians' teaching of housestaff on inpatient medical wards.

METHOD

A survey of 92 housestaff from the department of medicine at one teaching hospital was conducted in 1998 to determine how attending physicians' billing and documentation requirements, clinic responsibilities, teaching styles, and inpatient census affected the quantity and quality of their teaching. The questionnaire included a rank-order analysis of factors affecting quantity and quality of attending physicians' teaching, as well as a five-point Likert scale assessing the quality of attending physicians' teaching.

RESULTS

All housestaff responded. A total of 39% of housestaff perceived billing and documentation requirements to be the major detriment to quantity of teaching by attending physicians, and 30% perceived these requirements to be the major detriment to quality of teaching by attending physicians. Housestaff perceived more teaching and higher-quality teaching on services where attending physicians did not perform billing and documentation during teaching rounds.

CONCLUSION

Billing and documentation requirements are a major detriment to the quantity of teaching on inpatient services, especially when faculty attempt to meet these requirements during teaching rounds.

The impact of changes in HCFA documentation requirements on academic emergency medicine: results of a physician survey

BACKGROUND

The Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) has dramatically increased documentation and procedural supervision required by faculty in academic emergency departments (EDs).

OBJECTIVES

To determine academic emergency medicine (EM) physicians' perceptions of the impact of HCFA documentation requirements (HDR) on teaching time, clinical efficiency, and job satisfaction.

METHODS

An observational cross-sectional study was done using a survey of New England academic EM faculty from September to December 1999. E-mail surveys were followed by hard copy to nonresponders. Teaching time, clinical efficiency, and job satisfaction were rated on a five-point Likert scale. Yes/no questions about other possible benefits of HCFA regulations were asked. Frequency (95% CI) and chi-square analyses were performed.

RESULTS

One hundred seventy-four of 233 (75%) responded. Eighty-nine percent (95% CI = 84% to 93%) of the respondents thought teaching time was somewhat or markedly decreased by changes in HDR (somewhat 46%, markedly 43%). Seventy-nine percent (95% CI = 73% to 85%) believed clinical efficiency was somewhat or markedly decreased by changes in HDR (somewhat 49%, markedly 30%). Eighty percent (95% CI = 73% to 86%) reported somewhat or markedly decreased job satisfaction due to changes in HDR (somewhat 56%, markedly 24%). Twenty-one percent (95% CI = 15% to 27%) believed changes in HDR had improved patient care by requiring increased patient supervision. Forty-eight percent (95% CI = 40% to 56%) thought that changes in documentation requirements had decreased medicolegal risk by improving patient documentation.

CONCLUSIONS

Most academic EM physicians in New England perceive that HDR have decreased clinical efficiency, teaching time, and job satisfaction. These findings suggest that changes in HDR may have a substantial impact on many different aspects of emergency care provided in academic settings.

Treatment of depression in women: a summary of the expert consensus guidelines

Women constitute two-thirds of patients suffering from common depressive disorders, making the treatment of depression in women a substantial public health concern. However, high-quality, empirical data on depressive disorders specific to women are limited, and there are no comprehensive evidence-based practice guidelines on the best treatments for these illnesses. To bridge the gap between research evidence and key clinical decisions, the authors developed a survey of expert opinion concerning treatment of four depressive conditions specific to women: premenstrual dysphoric disorder, depression in pregnancy, postpartum depression in a mother choosing to breast-feed, and depression related to perimenopause/menopause. The survey asked about 858 treatment options in 117 clinical situations and included a broad range of pharmacological, psychosocial, and alternative medicine approaches. The survey was sent to 40 national experts on women's mental health issues, 36 (90%) of whom completed it. The options, scored using a modified version of the RAND Corporation's 9-point scale for rating appropriateness of medical decisions, were assigned one of three categorical rankings-first line/preferred choice, second line/alternate choice, third line/usually inappropriate-based on the 95% confidence interval of each item's mean rating. The expert panel reached consensus (defined as a non-random distribution of scores by chi-square "goodness-of-fit" test) on 76% of the options, with greater consensus in situations involving severe symptoms. Guideline tables indicating preferred treatment strategies were then developed for key clinical situations. The authors summarize the expert consensus methodology they used and then, for each of the four key areas, review the treatment literature and summarize the experts' recommendations and how they relate to the research findings. For women with severe symptoms in each area we asked about, the first-line recommendation was antidepressant medication combined with other modalities (generally psychotherapy). These recommendations parallel existing guidelines for severe depression in general populations. For initial treatment of milder symptoms in each situation, the panel was less uniform in recommending antidepressants, and either gave equal endorsement to other treatment modalities (e.g., nutritional or psychobehavioral approaches in PMDD; hormone replacement in perimenopause) or preferred psychotherapy over medication (during conception, pregnancy, or lactation). In all milder cases, however, antidepressants were recommended as at least second-line options. Among antidepressants, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) were recommended as first-line treatment in all situations. The specific SSRIs that were preferred depended on the particular clinical situation. Tricyclic antidepressants were highly rated alternatives to SSRIs in pregnancy and lactation. In evaluating many of the treatment options, the experts had to extrapolate beyond controlled data in comparing treatment options with each other or in combination. Within the limits of expert opinion and with the expectation that future research data will take precedence, these guidelines provide some direction for addressing common clinical dilemmas in women, and can be used to inform clinicians and educate patients regarding the relative merits of a variety of interventions.

Using faculty development to solve a problem of evaluation and management coding: a case study

Compliance with billing and coding rules put forth by the Health Care Finance Administration (HCFA) is a challenge for practicing physicians, including those in academic settings. The authors, members of the academic practice at Wayne State University School of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, designed and delivered a comprehensive curriculum as part of the practice's faculty development initiative surrounding the coding challenge. The authors defined outcomes expected on the way to achieving 100% compliance with HCFA's guidelines. Their curriculum covered topics of coding theory, chart auditing for coding, team building, effective meetings, and structured problem solving. The curriculum was delivered from January to May 1998. Chart audits of 251 charts (office notes) from before the intervention and 263 charts from after the intervention were performed to evaluate differences in coding accuracy. Errors were significantly reduced. The total error rate dropped from 50.2% to 31.1% (p < .05). Overcoding errors were reduced by one third (29.1% versus 19.7%), while undercoding errors were reduced by half (16.3% versus 8.4%). Other errors fell from 4.7% to 3%. The approach of defining and developing work teams and then using standard quality improvement tools may be an effective way to improve compliance with HCFA billing and coding rules. In addition, faculty development can be incorporated into the process of solving a problem that faces a faculty.

A continuous quality improvement approach to IL-372 documentation compliance in an academic emergency department, and its impact on dictation costs, billing practices, and average patient length of stay

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether continuous quality improvement (CQI) methodology could improve and maintain IL-372 documentation compliance in an academic emergency department (ED). The impact on transcription costs, billing practices, and average patient length of stay was also analyzed.

METHODS

Baseline IL-372 compliance data were collected and shared with staff during a multidisciplinary educational session. Faculty dictation became mandatory. Pocket-sized dictation templates were provided. A Documentation Improvement Committee monitored outcomes. Each month of the study period, a compliance officer reviewed approximately 100 records. The following indicators were monitored: IL-372 compliance rates, dictation rates, transcription costs, down-coding rates, percentage of billable records, and average patient length of stay. Individualized results were provided to faculty.

RESULTS

During the ten-month study period, compliance rates increased from 60% to 100% (p-trend < 0.001), while dictation rates increased from 69% to 100% (p < 0.001). Rates of down-coding adjustments improved from 54% to 2% (p-trend < 0.001). The percentage of billable records increased from 65% to 100% (p-trend < 0.001). Transcription costs increased a modest 16%. The average patient length of stay remained unchanged.

CONCLUSION

The application of CQI methodology, combined with the availability of dictation, resulted in sustained improvement in IL-372 compliance. This was associated with a parallel increase in dictation rates, although concurrent transcription costs increased only modestly. The percentage of billable records increased, while the number of charts requiring down-coding decreased, both beneficial outcomes. Average length of stay was not adversely impacted by this added documentation requirement.