Discovering the Weakness about “Weakness” Common Scenario If we earned a dollar for every “weakness” response we’ve handled over the years, collectively we could more than adequately fund every EMS system in the United States with the newest trucks, latest equipment and all providers would be driving some expensive European luxury car. But, now that […]
Effective ePCR Program Use In Memory of the “Bubble Sheet” There’s no doubt that the introduction of the ePCR (Electronic Patient Care Report) software to the EMS industry has taken us to a new level of efficiency. The ePCR is a great “Tool of the Trade.” R.I.P. the “Bubble Sheet” of old which was often […]
The Drama of Documenting Trauma Making you sweat? Do traumatic incidents make you sweat? Probably. Does documenting traumatic incidents make you sweat more? Most likely. The sheer amount of “stuff” that surrounds our trauma calls many times overwhelms us. The very nature of the run- auto crashes, industrial accidents, severe falls with complications or the […]
I Can’t Breathe! Why this subject? We’ve heard it dispatched a whole bunch of ways… shortness of breath, respiratory distress, dyspnea. If you’ve been in the ambulance business long enough these calls are second nature and they occur a lot. So, why tackle this subject in an ambulance billing blog? Simple answer… just because we […]
Technology and Your Billing Office Big Changes The ambulance billing office of today is a far cry from the paper-laden, file-cabinet intensive self that it used to be. Modern technology, ranging from digital storage and archiving to cloud technology to electronic claim filing in a growingly paperless world, has advanced the ambulance billing industry to […]
Sign on the Dotted Line, Please! Version 2.1 Hits the Streets This week our good friends at the premiere EMS law firm in the United States, Page, Wolfberg and Wirth, released the latest version of the patient signature and authorization form which has fast become the compliance standard in the ambulance industry. Once again, PWW […]
Defining EMS for our Communities-Facility Education Last Week… In this space last week, we advocated stepping out to educate our communities about EMS. We focused primarily on where to educate people on the subject of when it’s appropriate (and not appropriate) to call 9-1-1 in light of medical necessity and the need for EMS. Our […]
Novitas Announces Revalidation Mailing for Jurisdiction H Medicare Novitas Solutions Inc, Part A/B Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) for Jurisdiction H including the States of Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas announced the mailing of 18,000 revalidation notices to Medicare providers and suppliers. This follows a similar project conducted by Novitas Solutions for […]
Defining EMS for our Communities “Foot Pain” “County 9-1-1 dispatching EMS Station 90 for unknown medical emergency, female patient with foot pain. Ambulance 91 is due at 2040 hours.” That’s your scenario as it cracks through the Minitor. “Foot pain?” You ask yourself. Really? Someone actually called 9-1-1 to request an ambulance for foot pain? […]
Payment Reductions Loom for Dialysis Transports Section 637 Remember “Section 637.” This is the section of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 that will require the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to reduce Medicare payments for BLS Non-Emergency ambulance transports nationwide by 10% beginning on October 1, 2013. Non-Emergency, Basic Life Support […]
