rvu

Wow, I've got some awesome data today.  So awesome, it even trumps a series of important pediatric RVU and H1N1 announcements (care of the helpful people at the AAP) and Jill Stoller's NBC debut.

What would trump that kind of information? 

I forgot to mention last week that I updated the Build Your Own RVU calculator for 2009.  You can find it and the instructions in the PedSource library.

Andrew Cuomo, you are my new friend.

It’s also nice to feel vindicated.  Lynn Cramer, pay attention - this relates to your questions to me about St. Anthony’s RVU values.  For anyone who is using St. Anthony’s or Ingenix to set prices, etc., pay attention here!

I’ve said more than once that the AAP is the first place pediatricians should go to learn about RVUs.  They have updated it and you can now find their 2009 RBRVS Conversion Spreadsheet on-line.  I got to help out by making a little change to the sheet (now the GPCI piece is just a pull down and not something you need to do manually).  Cool.  After reading through the

The AAP has updated and revised its RBRVS policy statement and it is included in December's Pediatrics.  Yours truly provides the full PDF here, as it remains the best description of the state of RVUs and pediatrics (thanks Siousxie and the COCN).  A Grafton Cheddar cheese prize for the first person who spots the grammatical mistake in the article!

Yesterday, I asked if anyone knows how the awkward RBRVS GPCI system is developed.  Siouxsie, of course, had the answer.  In fact, more than answer.  Those of you who are dinged by the GPCI breakdown should head Reed Tinsley’s quick review of it and then check out CMS’s PDF…and get in touch with CMS! Remember, it worked with the imms admin for 2009, why not for GPCIs

Wow, some shockers.  Anyone here live in Alaska?

Just like last year, I’ve gone through the entire GPCI catalog and have calculated the impact of the geographical adjustment changes for RBRVS in 2009.  While folks focus 99% of the attention on the impact of individual codes or the new annual multiplier, not enough attention is paid to the GPCI impacts.  For some of you, the impact is greater than any change.

Some highlights from the table below:

I was privileged to receive a notice from the AAP’s Inner Sanctum
about the recently released updates to our friendly RVU system and am
sharing it below.  Over the next few days, I will post some pediatric /
RVU data relating to the updates that you can’t get anywhere else.

My sincere thanks go to Siouxsie, whose message I have excerpted here.  I will follow up with data, etc.

Thanks to my new bf at the AAP (to whom I am significantly indebted), here is a copy of the AAP's response to the proposed RVU changes for 2009. I wrote about this a few weeks ago and would like to remind you all that you have one more day to get your comments in about the immunization admin disappointment. Copy the language in my previous post or here, it doesn't matter. Just get that letter in - pediatrics will continue to get the short end of the stick until we all stand up to be heard. I received some excellent examples of letters our clients sent...keep up the good work.

Some good data coming shortly about overdue physicals.

A little while ago, someone bravely asked to see 99174 usage data among pediatricians.

For those who aren't family, the 99174 is new in 2008. To quote the CPT book (but not enough to attract the ire of the AMA), the 99174 is "Ocular photoscreening with interpretation and report, bilateral."

So, waltzing into the massive PCC database, we find...no instances of the 99174 among our clients. None, zippo, nada. That doesn't help! Therefore, I turn to the new poll on the left. Anyone here using the 99174? Getting paid? Tell us more. The code itself is scheduled to get more/better RVUs in 2009, so perhaps it's time to pay attention.

Thanks.