PT Employers and PT Empoyees Be Aware

[Guest guest]

Dear List Serve Members,

Hope this missive finds you in good health and geared up for the new

challenges we all face in 2008.

I was recently reading a message from a list serve member who was responding

to a " clarification " of a specific billing ruling. In her response, she

actually provided the name of the former clinic she worked for along with the

city and state it was located. She further added that " during the two years

she was working at this clinic " she was " incorrectly billing " as a result of

her " former employer providing her with " misinformation " and thanked the

submitter for providing her with clarification on this ruling--a ruling that

had

been in place since 1992. She signed off providing her name, professional

designation and the name of the clinic (city and state) where she is currently

employed I nearly fell out my chair!

I will not mention the person's name or the specific billing question asked

as to not draw further attention to this matter.

The following is NOT legal advice, just some good ole' fashion common sense

advice.

Use discretion when you put things in writing and more importantly, when you

put things in writing that will be published on a blog or list serve message

board.

Ignorance of the law does not negate your responsibility to abide by the

law, nor does it negate your responsibility to abide by the law when you are a

professional employee of a hospital or private practice.

You must abide by your Practice Act at all times; abide by the coding and

billing guidelines set forth by the state, federal and commercial insurance

carriers you are contracted with and/or your employer has contracted with on

your behalf, regardless if you have signed a contract to reassign benefits to

your employer.

In some employee/employer situations, your employer may have required you to

sign a confidentiality agreement wherein you are legally obligated and

restricted from discussing or soliciting their patients after termination of

services; legally obligated and restricted from sharing trade secrets and/or

financially sensitive practice information after resignation/termination; and

legally obligated and restricted from discussing with the media or public

anything regarding your former employer or employment without the specific

written

authorization of your former employer.

If your are a clinic owners and you do not have an employee confidentiality

agreement in place, consider contacting a local employment attorney to

provide you with an employee confidentiality agreement that meets with your

state

employment laws.

If your practice does not have a Corporate Compliance Plan in place, develop

and implement a Corporate Compliance Plan as soon as possible.

Use the resources that are available to you in order to educate and inform

your new and current PT staff members regarding proper coding and billing

guidelines, state/federal billing laws, and Practice Act standards. The APTA

and

CMS (MedLearn Matters) websites offer medical and health care providers with

the most current changes in coding and billing standards along with a

listing of the most FAQ regarding PT coding and billing. Print these

notices/publications and have ALL new and current PTs read and sign-off on

these

notices/publications. Keep a record on file in your office of the dates and

times

these notices and publications were provided to your employees.

Have a great Sunday afternoon and evening.

D. Cavitt, President

Medical Legal Alliance, L.L.C.

Lafayette, LA 70508

(cell)

**************Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape.

http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489