Payor Policies Important Variable
“Before making a large outlay in money and physician time, it is probably a good idea to talk to your payors to see what their policies will be,” says Dr. Samuels. “You should also realize that a year from now, the answers you received in 2011 might have changed.”
As an example, he pointed to Medicare fee schedules that instituted lowered payment for limited examinations in 2011. Now, if you only get views that answer your clinical questions instead of every possible view of a joint, you will get paid less.
Another consideration is the trend by many payers toward global, or bundled, payments for a diagnosis. As this becomes more prevalent, anything that the practice can keep in-house should help the bottom line.
“Ultrasound is useful across so many of the diseases we treat,” says Dr. Samuels. “It is a comprehensive and useful technology that, when properly learned over time, can be very helpful in improving patient care.”
Kurt Ullman is a freelance writer based in Indiana.
