To determine this, the ACR staff sends out the RUC surveys to a random sample of rheumatologists requesting detailed information on the time and intensity of a particular service. Responses to these surveys form the basis on which reimbursement is then set.
Completing these surveys is vital to reimbursement, Dr. Laing stresses. “When RUC members are considering a code, they look at the survey data. If there is a low response to the survey, then the data is discounted and, sometimes, rejected by the committee,” he says. “So it is very important to have an adequate survey response.”
Currently, the RUC is working on survey responses on diagnostic ultrasound of extremities and therapeutic injection codes.
Where to Go For Help
Dr. Laing encourages members who receive these and other surveys to fill them out to the best of their abilities. Members seeking help can contact Antanya Chung, ACR director of practice management, ACR, at [email protected] or visit www.rheumatology.org/Practice-Quality/Administrative-Support/Coding/Coding-Guidelines/CPT for additional information.
Mary Beth Nierengarten is a freelance medical journalist based in Minneapolis.
