July 14, 2023

In a long-standing tradition, the last day of The National will focus on improving patient care through practice efficiency and proper coding.

Sunday starts with the breakfast symposium “Role of the DPM in Value-Based Health Care” in Presidential D. Michael J. King, DPM, Chief Medical Officer, Upperline Health, and APMA past president, will discuss the evolution of health-care reimbursement models and where they are headed.

“By 2030, Medicare wants all its enrollees to be under a value-based health-care model,” said Dr. King. “This is the direction we are heading in, and it is important for podiatrists to understand where they fit.”

Dr. King will cover the major elements of a value-based system, which include organizing care around medical conditions and measuring outcomes and costs for every patient.

“Podiatrists see sicker patients than any other specialty. Our patients may struggle to get an appointment with their primary care physician, but they will come in and see us. We have a tremendous opportunity to take the lead in a value-based health-care model because we are often the first physicians to identify many comorbidities with our patients.”

The breakfast symposium will be followed by the Harry Goldsmith, DPM, Memorial Coding Seminar (also in Presidential D). Frequently cited as a top reason to attend The National, this year’s seminar will include a slew of must-know coding updates.

Sarah Abshier, DPM, and Jeffrey Lehrman, DPM, will present several lectures hitting on major, pressing topics in coding. There have been several significant changes to coding in the last few years.

“I feel a lot of people lost touch with coding as they were wrapped up in COVID-related concerns,” said Dr. Abshier. “My lectures go back to the changes that have occurred in coding since 2019 that are most relevant to podiatrists.”

Topics that will be covered include wound care coding, radiation services, and nail debridement and callus paring in the same encounter.

“One of the biggest coding issues impacting podiatrists right now is submitting nail debridement and callus paring when both services are provided at the same encounter,” said Dr. Lehrman. “This session will detail the guidelines regarding submission of these two services, what the rules are when both can be submitted, when both should not be submitted together, and what the documentation guidelines are when both services are performed at the same encounter.”

Another important topic that will be covered is the surgical treatment of nails.

“Since the last National meeting, APMA has devoted a tremendous amount of work to communicating with CMS regarding its relatively new policy relating to surgical treatment of nails, represented by CPT® 11730 and 11750,” said Dr. Lehrman. “There has been some progress, and advocacy efforts continue where progress is still needed. This session will update attendees on what these policies are, what progress has been made, and what efforts are still underway.”

The seminar will also feature J. Kevin West, JD, discussing coding ethics and supplemental medical review contractor audits.