Confidently welcome telehealth patients, shorten the billing cycle, and spend more time with patient care. Get a copy of the webinar by filling out this form. Hosted by Wayne Roye, CEO of Troinet with Special Guest, Rohit Maharishi or Advantrix.
Billing reimbursements is one of the biggest challenges of physicians when it comes to telemedicine. Troinet and Advantrix are here to help you. In this webinar, we answered questions like:
• How can I make sure I will get paid from telemedicine appointments?
• or at least won’t be required to refund after the insurance makes an audit?
• How do I make the proper documentation?
• How can I use telemedicine if my practice involves physical meetings like physical therapy or dentistry?
Is video conferencing HIPAA compliant?
Not a complex question, but the question can seemingly bring on several types of answers. The simple answer is that video conferencing can be compliant with the government’s mandate for health security standards. However, not all major video conferencing solutions can meet the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) standard, especially not big industry names like Skype and Facetime.
In order for a health organization to ensure they are in good accordance with the HIPAA regulation, they will need to err on the safe side so it’s recommended that any provider using a video conferencing solution, must have a solution that offers complete encryption of any personal patient data.
As telemedicine continues to grow and become a norm in today’s society, more and more video conferencing solutions are increasing their security standards to meet the standards of HIPAA and other security protocols.
The current pandemic has dramatically increased the need for Telehealth.
-While HIPAA rules have been relaxed, violations may still be levied. It is very important that we remain compliant as much as possible.
-The provider must use an interactive, real-time audio and video telecommunication system in order to bill office visit codes 99201–99215. If the patient does not have access to a smart phone or computer, do not bill office visit code
– CMS specified that Facebook Live, Twitch, TikTok or other public facing video tools should NOT be used for telehealth.
-HIPAA privacy rules waived: may use FaceTime, Skype, Messenger video chat, Google hang-outs video.
-CMS instructs groups to notify the patient that third party platforms may have privacy risk
-The provider may waive the co-pay / deductible but is not required to do so.
-Visits are paid at the same rate as in person visits.
-You do NOT need to record visits on any platform.
-You DO need to document the visit in the EMR
-You need to write a proper note using the telehealth
template including a history, limited physical exam and
an assessment/plan.
On March 30, 2020, CMS finalized payment for telephone evaluation and management (E/M) services (CPT 99441-99443). Effective March 1, 2020, the codes will be considered active and payable for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic. CMS will allow physicians to provide telephone E/M services to new and established patients.
Telephone E/M services are provided to a patient, parent, or guardian and do not originate from a related E/M service within the previous seven days and do not lead to an E/M service or procedure within the next 24 hours or soonest available appointment.
The following codes may be used by physicians or other qualified health professionals who may report E/M services:
Medicare (+MA) also accepts G2012 for virtual check-in and this has been in place prior to COVID. It is only applicable for 5-10 minutes interaction and can be conducted through multiple communication technology modalities, including synchronous telephone conversation or exchange of information through video or image. Call must only be initiated by the patient.
Corresponding E-Visit codes are separate and corresponding NP/PA codes are separate
In 2017, CMS developed Place of Service (POS) code (02) for telemedicine services.
– On 3/30/2020, CMS said you are not required to use POS 02, but should use the place of service that would have been used if the patient was seen face-to-face. This means, the office visit services will be paid at the higher, non-facility rate, not the lower, facility rate.
Clinicians who may not independently bill Medicare for E/M services (i.e., physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, clinical psychologists) can use the following codes.
G2061: Qualified non-physician health care professional online assessment and management, for a patient, for up to 7 days, cumulative time during the 7 days, 5-10 minutes
G2062: Qualified non-physician health care professional online assessment and management, for a patient, for up to 7 days, cumulative time during the 7 days, 11-20 minutes
G2063: Qualified non-physician health care professional online assessment and management, for a patient, for up to 7 days, cumulative time during the 7 days, 21 or more minutes
Commercials although have more extensive code coverage – including IE/RE / Therapeutic Activities, etc. However patient benefits must be checked.
any limitation on follow-up visits in terms of number of days between the two sessions.
-Currently there is no limitation in number of days between the two sessions of telemedicine encounters.
– However, there are limitations for e-visits, where the patient must generate the initial inquiry and asynchronous communications can occur over a 7-day period.
Thinking to integrate telemedicine or medical billing into your practice? Start on the right foot by getting with the specialists on IT and Medical Billing.
Founder and CEO of Advantrix Corp – a billing service serving providers across 8 specialties.
Specializing in Medical Billing Reimbursement Management Solutions and Allied Services, Advantrix offers a host of services covering a wide array of medical billing; processing, denial management, aging cleanup, collections, data management, analytics and technology services.
Wayne Roye is the CEO of Troinet. Troinet is a technology firm based in New York that focus on adapting technology to help improve healthcare operations.
Troinet provides consultancy, healthcare IT services, information, and software support.
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