During the pandemic, can you bill phone calls when delivering pathology results to patients for both benign and malignant lesions? Can you bill for both a telephone call and a subsequent in-office visit? The AAD/A’s coding team has the answers.Read more in Derm Coding Consult.
DW Insights and Inquiries: Here comes summer (and sunscreen conversations)!
As the summer solstice approaches, days will lengthen, as will patient-related conversations regarding sunscreen use. In this anxiety-ridden age, with all the information overload, patients’ questions have expanded beyond what sunscreen we recommend. Concerns for safety — both personal and environmental — are paramount.
As dermatologists, we must be frank about the incontrovertible data that sunscreen use decreases sunburn risk, skin cancer (especially squamous cell carcinoma), and photoaging. When patients obsess about sunscreens, it is incumbent on us to remind them that these agents are only one part of a sun protection strategy including seeking shade, particularly between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., and wearing appropriate clothing. Focusing on sunscreens without consideration of other avoidance techniques is akin to relying on car airbags without concern for driving sober in a well-maintained automobile. Keep reading!
Congress passes legislation to provide further COVID-19 relief funding
Congress has passed legislation that would provide an additional $484 billion to aid small businesses and hospitals and bolster testing efforts. Highlights include:
$321 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program
$10 billion for the SBA's Economic Injury Disaster Loan program
$75 billion to HHS for reimbursement to hospitals and health care providers to support the need for COVID-19 related expenses and lost revenue
$25 billion to HHS for necessary expenses to research, develop, validate, manufacture, purchase, administer, and expand capacity for COVID-19 tests
DW Weekly recently spoke with physicians who have taken advantage of the federal aid programs available to businesses during the pandemic. Hear from James Zalla, MD, from Florence, Kentucky, about how he navigated the COVID-19 relief programs for his small practice. Read more from Bobby Buka, MD, JD, in New York City, about his efforts to keep his large practice afloat in the middle of a COVID-19 “hot zone.”
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) and CMS announced a delay in implementation of the agencies’ recently released pair of final rules that address EHR interoperability hurdles. Portions of the CMS rule — such as hospital admissions, discharge, and transfer data-feed requirements — will be delayed as much as six months. Portions of the ONC rule — such as the requirements for patient Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that support health information exchange and interoperability — will be pushed back at least three months.
The AADA is currently reviewing the rules for potential impact on dermatology practice settings.
Read more about the road to EHR interoperability in Dermatology World.
Academy encourages participation in new COVID-19 dermatology registry
The new COVID-19 dermatology registry is collecting information about the dermatologic manifestations of the COVID-19 virus. The survey is for all health care professionals worldwide (not just dermatologists) taking care of COVID-19 patients who develop dermatologic manifestations, or dermatology patients with an existing condition who then develop COVID-19 — and a positive COVID-19 test is not required to enter data. Participation takes only five minutes, and photos are not required.
The American Academy of Dermatology is a non-profit professional organization and does not endorse companies or products. Advertising helps support our mission.
