Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1335763
21 PRACTICE MANAGEMENT CMS finalizes physician payment rule for 2021: 6 takeaways By Ayla Ellison C MS released its annual changes to the physician fee schedule for 2021, which updates the payment rates for physician services and expands the list of telehealth services covered by Medicare. Six takeaways from the 2,165-page final rule: 1. Payment update. With the budget neutral- ity adjustment to account for changes in rela- tive value units, as required by law, the physi- cian fee schedule conversion factor for 2021 is $34.89, down 3.3 percent from $36.09 in 2020. 2. Telehealth. e final rule adds more than 60 services to Medicare's telehealth list, en- suring they're covered beyond the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency. "ese additions allow beneficiaries in rural areas who are in a medical facility … to continue to have access to telehealth services such as certain types of emergency department visits, therapy services, and critical care services," CMS said. e agency said it will gather more data and evaluate whether more services should be added. 3. Direct supervision by interactive telecom- munication technology. For the duration of the public health emergency, CMS adopted a policy revising the definition of direct su- pervision to include virtual presence of the supervising physician or practitioner using real-time video communications technology. Under the final rule, direct supervision can be provided using real-time, interactive audio and video technology through Dec. 31, 2021. 4. Evaluation and management coding and payment. e final rule makes changes to evaluation and management services and codes, including increasing the relative val- ue of several services, such as maternity care bundles and end-stage renal disease capitated payment bundles. "e finalized policy marks the most signifi- cant updates to E/M codes in 30 years, reduc- ing burden on doctors imposed by the coding system and rewarding time spent evaluating and managing their patients' care," CMS Ad- ministrator Seema Verma said. "In the past, the system has rewarded interventions and procedures over time spent with patients — time taken preventing disease and managing chronic illnesses." 5. Medicare Shared Savings Program. CMS finalized changes to the Medicare Shared Savings Program quality performance stan- dards and reporting requirements for the performance year beginning Jan. 1. It is also providing automatic full credit for the Con- sumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems patient experience care surveys for performance year 2020. 6. Professional scope of practice. Under the final rule, certain nonphysician practitioners, such as physician assistants and nurse prac- titioners, can supervise diagnostic testing if state law allows. n 23-physician orthopedic group to open flagship facility in March By Alan Condon P rovidence-based Ortho Rhode Island is set to open a new flagship facility in Warwick, R.I., in March, the War- wick Beacon reported. Three things to know: 1. Once open, the new location will con- solidate Ortho Rhode Island's current War- wick and East Greenwich facilities. 2. The center will provide the full spectrum of orthopedic care and feature an urgent care facility. 3. Ortho Rhode Island's team includes 23 physicians and 19 physician assistants. n $6.7M orthopedic ASC opens in Pennsylvania, plans to perform up to 4,500 surgeries in 2021 By Alan Condon P hiladelphia-based Premier Orthopedics and Philadelphia Hand to Shoulder Center opened a $6.7 million surgery center in King of Prussia, Pa., Philadelphia Business Journal reported. Five things to know: 1. Services offered include spine surgery, total joint replacement, gener- al orthopedic surgery and fracture care. 2. Twenty orthopedic surgeons staff the center, which has four operating rooms and 14 pre- and postoperative rooms. 3. West Reading, Pa.-based Tower Health and Hester, Pa.-based Croz- er-Keystone Health System are minority stakeholders of the ASC. 4. About 90 surgeries have been performed at the facility since it opened in the summer of 2020. 5. The 14,500-square-foot ASC is expected to perform between 4,300 and 4,500 surgeries in 2021. n