Abn

How are the new ABN forms being handled in the Offices by all? Any and all sage advice is welcomed!

I think I have come up with a solution that streamlines this process, but thank you in advance for any input that you may have for comparison.

[How are the new ABN forms being handled in the Offices by all? Any and all sage advice is welcomed!]

need more details

What services do you offer that require an ABN? I am an internist and never use them. Not worth the hassle- if the service is not covered, it should not be done. Medicare's guidelines are pretty reasonable as to what they considered covered.

Abn

There are many times where patients will want a Hep A vaccination for traveling purposes therefore requiring the use of an ABN. We also use ABN's for routine tetanus vaccinations since they are non-covered by Medicare as well.

Desiree R. Baylin, CMOM, CPM
POMAA Executive Director
www.pomaa.net

Abn

There's an article about it in Codapedia but it doesn't address the process.

There are good reasons for an ABN: frequency or diagnosis limitations.

Although the nursing staff doesn't like to do them, I think they are the right people in the office, because they know the clinical indications. For immunizations that are never covered, an ABN is not required.

When to use an ABN

I just posted a paper that I developed for our office, which will be approved shortly and made available on this site. This may help your staff to know when to use the ABN. If you don't have one and the service is denied, you can not bill the patient. Therefore, it's very important to use them when needed.

In addition, statutorily excluded services do not require an ABN; however, the new ABN also can be used as a Notice of Exclusions to the Medicare Beneficiary that show the patient what services are statutorily excluded and they will be responsible for the entire payment.

Charlene Burgett,MS-HCM,CMA(AAMA),CPC,CCP,CMSCS,CPM
Administrator, North Scottsdale Family Medicine
POMAA National Advisory Board
charlene_burgett@yahoo.com
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