Audiology Resources
Monthly News & Updates
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First, I want to take this opportunity to wish you and yours a Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving! While 2020 has been one for the books, I am still so thankful for my family, friends, and audiology hive!
I am about to enter my "presentation season"! I do tons of presentations in December, January and February updating providers on the changing billing, coding, insurance and compliance landscapes for the upcoming year! I swear my 2021 events are going to cover some of the largest changes I have seen in the past decade. It is important for every audiologist to get informed, from me or from their state and national associations or buying entities, on the changes ahead!
Here are the upcoming 2021 update and boot camp presentations:
Let's start 2021 informed and healthy!
Cheers!
Kim
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Monthly Coding and Reimbursement Tips
Place of Service Coding
In a COVID world, audiologists are seeing their patients in new and innovative ways and places. Audiology is no longer just being provided in the office.
But, when you see patients outside of the office, you have to reflect this change in your coding. You do this through modifying the Place of Service code (box 24B on the CMS 1500 form and 2400/SV105 in the 837P format). View a list of place of service codes HERE.
The place of service represents where the PATIENT is on the date of service. For example, if they are in your OFFICE, the code is 11. Telehealth? The code changes to 02.
Place of service coding has implications for coverage. For example, for Medicare, audiology telehealth is only covered for codes 92601-92604. There are some places of service, such as skilled nursing facility, hospital, ambulatory surgery center, and hospice where you, the Part B Medicare provider, cannot directly bill Medicare for services and the facility itself has to bill. There are others, such as birthing centers, place of employment/worksite or comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation facility where Medicare provides no coverage of audiology services in these settings. You can view Medicare guidance on place of service coding HERE.
Medicaid and private insurers may also restrict coverage in these settings as well. It is important to consult your contracts, medical policies, and, in COVID, state executive orders to determine if and when coverage is affected by specific places of service.
It is important to note that misrepresenting the place of service on your claim to ensure payment would be considered a false claim. As a result, itis important that audiologists truly represent the correct place of service on all of their third-party claims.
To learn more about place of service coding in audiology, please consider one of the boot camp offerings outlined above or pose questions to national or state associations where you are a member.
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Innovation/Book Spotlight
The focus of this year's Academy of Doctors of Audiology virtual conference was audiology design thinking. As part of that, they sent all attendees the book Health Design Thinking by Bon Ku, MD and Ellen Lupton. Dr. Ku was also one the the event's Keynote Speakers!
I found this book (and the presentation) extremely informative in helping me rethink my ideas and approach to patient care (and, also, in how I interact with healthcare providers like all of you)!
This is an easy, interactive read that can help you change the direction of the way you practice!
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Tackling the Biggest Challenges Facing Audiology and Its Future One Month at a Time: Too Many National Associations and No Singular Message
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In my August 2020 newsletter, I posed this poll question: In your opinion, what is the biggest challenge facing Audiology and its future? The second largest response selected (over 25%) was “Too many national associations and no singular message”. You can view the poll results HERE.
This piece is an update of a piece I wrote THREE YEARS AGO, in September 2017. If anything, our situation is direr as we continue to allow our resources and time to be further diluted by multiple national stakeholders, buying groups, purchasing organizations, and social media groups in a professional of roughly 17,000 providers and WE do this all while lamenting the status of audiology. We need to understand that WE ARE AUDIOLOGY!
Many, incorrectly, assume that audiology is represented, at the national level, by three professional organizations: the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), the Academy of Doctors of Audiology (ADA) and the American Academy of Audiology (AAA). Actually, audiology and audiologists are represented nationally by, at least, ten professional stakeholder organizations:
Each of these organizations represent a different demographic of the audiology workforce, with AAA and ASHA both believing, right or wrong, that they represent the profession. But, the existence of these separate organizations, with their separate boards and committees, separate dues, separate political action committees, separate lobbyists, separate educational offerings AND, most importantly, separate political and organizational agendas, significantly dilute our small profession’s precious human and financial resources AND, to the public and policy makers, make it look like the profession has no singular course or direction (especially when folks often disagree). THIS latter issue has put audiology in a precarious situation on the national stage.
I always think back to the Audiology Foundation of America (AFA), whose clear mission was moving the profession of audiology to a doctoral degree and status. They focused, solely, on that mission and the professionals it affected, for almost two decades. They did what was needed to support their mission, not what was needed to grow and increase the status of the AFA. They were unwavering in their pursuit of their mission. Their eyes never left the prize. And, when their mission was complete, they folded and donated their remaining coffers to support the next generation of audiologists. AFA was, relatively, self-sufficient and self-sustaining from their early founding. They are a perfect example of audiology altruism, whether you agree with the AuD or not. It was all about the profession.
So, who, really represents, the profession of audiology and its professionals? No one has ever, really, been able to definitely determine how many actual, United States based, audiologist members each organization represents. I think that answer falls in the AAA and ASHA numbers. How many Academy (which, I hate, by the way) members are students, either in doctoral or undergraduate programs? How many AAA members or fellows are international? How many AAA members are affiliates? On the ASHA side, how many of the member numbers reported are for life members (age 65 years or older and 25 consecutive years or 35 cumulative years of ASHA membership prior to the age of 65) or retired certification (retired, 25 years of ASHA certification or 65 years or older)? I am not saying that these groups don't matter, because they do, but they cloud how many actual, practicing audiologists each organization actually represents in the US. This number is important to help us decide about who, really, represents audiologists and both have been elusive in clarifying the numbers in each of their membership categories.
Now, let's talk about mission, at least as it pertains to the two largest audiology associations, AAA and ASHA. BOTH say THEY represent audiology on the national stage. The American Academy of Audiology, which was founded in 1988, states that their mission is to promote "quality hearing and balance care by advancing the profession of audiology through leadership, advocacy, education, public awareness, and support of research".
ASHA, which was founded in 1947, states that their mission is "empowering and supporting audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists through:
- advancing science,
- setting standards,
- fostering excellence in professional practice, and
- advocating for members and those they serve"
WE, the audiology community, get to vote for who BEST represents us and who we want to be advocating for us and our future. We do our voting through membership. Right now, as we are in the membership renewal cycle, think long and hard about who you WANT representing you and your interests on a national stage before you sent them another dime. WE have to pick ONE voice and one direction. We have this choice NOW! WE ARE WHY THERE IS NO SINGULAR VOICE BECAUSE WE REFUSE TO ONLY SUPPORT ONE MAJOR NATIONAL ASSOCIATION!
I encourage each of us to learn more about all of the stakeholders and their role and influence over our profession, especially those you are less familiar with, and ponder the following questions:
- How many actual practicing audiologists does each organization currently represent? I want to see real numbers breaking down each membership category. Let's see some transparency.
- Which organizations do you believe are fulfilling their missions?
- Which associations do you find to be honest and transparent?
- Which associations do you find to inclusive?
- Which association do you believe has the human and financial resources to support their mission and the profession of audiology?
- Which association Is self-sustaining and not merely an extension of the hearing aid manufacturers and their money?
- Does every audiology association have an audiologist on their staff? If so, how many? The answer to this question may shock you.
- Are national professional associations a thing of the past and, instead, have social networking groups, buying groups, manufacturers, state associations, online education, etc. filled that needs previously filled by national associations?
- What is a more valuable organization to you and your profession: your national association or your state association?
- Do you continue to re-join national associations you dislike? Why?
- Should audiology follow the course of other healthcare professions and be represented by a single, umbrella organization? If so, who should that organization be and why? Are their negatives of being represented by a single association? Forget about all current notions and preconceived opinions. Consider organizations you not might currently be a member of or might have a lot of information on.
- If you do not believe audiology can or should be represented by a single organization, do you believe associations should put the profession FIRST, compromise, and work together towards audiology goals and initiatives? Are you willing to live with the consequences?
We really, as professionals, need to really get at the heart of these questions and our personal answers to them. We should not continue to financially support organizations who we do not believe are supporting us and OUR vision of the profession. We are the customers of an association, not the converse. It is time for us to stand up and demand change. Too much is at stake at this point. Associations need to have the BALLS (I said it and am proud) to make the choices that might be best for audiologists but bad for the association. Like AFA, each association needs to willing to die (and fold) in an attempt to fulfill their mission. They need to pick AUDIOLOGY over association, ego, and themselves.
What are YOU willing to tackle or sacrifice for long-term gains?
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