Your Expert Presenter:

Margie Scalley Vaught, CPC, CPC-H, PCE,
CCS-P, MCS-P, ACS-OR, ACS-EM

Margie has over 23 years of experience in the health care arena. She has worked in many positions from a nurse’s aid to ward clerk and medical transcriptionist to office manager. She has over 19 years experience in coding, billing and reimbursement issues. Currently, Margie is performing internal audits, education and training of physicians and office staff and helping clinics establish billing and compliance manuals as an independent consultant. She is an advisor on orthopedic coding to the Board of Medical Specialty Coding (BMSC) and assisted in the development of their Advanced Orthopedic Coding credentialing exam (ACS-OR). Margie also serves as consulting editor to Orthopedic Coder’s Pink Sheet.

How the Audio Conference Works

Not what you were looking for?

The busiest time of year is fast upon us: new codes, regulations and fee schedules mean you must revise charge tickets…update coding systems…revamp documentation policies…and so much more. Is your entire practice – from clinicians to coders – prepared?

Get everyone in your office ready for all of the 2008 code changes with best-practices tips from nationally-known coding consultant Margie Scalley Vaught, Chehalis, Wash. Participate in the audio conference, “Ready Your Practice for 2008: Best Practices for Code Changes,” November 6, 2007, 1:00-2:00 pm Eastern Time.

Bonus: Put Margie’s 9-point coder’s checklist to use in the next few weeks as you ready your practice to hit the ground running in January. Here are just a few of the essential pointers Margie gives to make sure your office sails smoothly into the 2008 coding season:

• Check your procedure code timeline. There’s more to updating your office than just ordering new CPT books, of course. (Don’t forget about HCPCS!) Margie discusses when – and how – to keep yourself, your coding staff and your clinicians on top of all the CPT and HCPCS changes.

• Prepare for new diagnosis codes and guidelines. A whole different timeline and set of rules comes into play when updating your diagnosis codes. You’ll need to educate and update on ICD-9-CM before you even think about tackling CPT changes. Tip: You can’t rely solely on your ICD-9-CM manual. Margie tells you why – and where to go to get diagnosis coding information vital to your practice.

• Use fee schedules to aid your code updates. Do you know where to find valuable coding details tucked among the numbers? Margie does, and will show you, too. Use facts from the Medicare physician fee schedule to help explain changes to your clinicians. Hint: Medicare also releases a code-by-code spreadsheet detailing each code’s status, bundling rules, bilateral coding rules, and much, much more. Discover how to get – and use – this top-notch coding resource for your practice.

• Prime your practice for coding hot-spots. Each year the government provides us with one simple document that gives valuable insight into where we should focus our coding education and training. It’s easy to get. Margie tells you how, plus advice to put it to maximum use in your office.

Register Now
Sponsors:

CEUs:

Approved for 1.0 CEUs (ACS-EM, and SCP-EM)

To find out about upcoming conferences and for a complete listing of audio CDs, please visit www.decisionhealth.com.

One registration fee lets your entire staff listen in! Save money - no travel expenses!