Wednesday, September 24, 2014

DID YOU KNOW?


 The annual meeting of the American Dental Association, “ADA 2014—America’s Dental Meeting”, is scheduled for the second week in October in San Antonio, Texas.  At this meeting, the CDT 2015 codes, including 15 additions, 5 deletions, and 52 revisions, will be available.  The CDT Code, used to document treatment provided on claim submissions to third party payers, must be kept current and accurate by every dental care provider who uses the codes, and it is the provider’s responsibility to do so.  Watch Practicon’s print or online catalog for the new edition of Coding with Confidence, The” Go-To” Dental Insurance Guide, CDT-2015 Edition by Dr. Charles Blair.  This guide assures dramatic cuts to coding errors and boosts legitimate reimbursement.  Go to www.practicon.com for online ordering or call 1-800-959-9505 to order from one of Practicon’s friendly, capable sales representatives.

 Identity theft is on the rise, and a primary way stolen identities are now used is to obtain tax refunds fraudulently.  The IRS has reported more than 1800 new investigations involving such refunds.  Dentists in Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin have reported that their stolen identity has been used to file a fraudulent tax return.  For more information about fraudulent returns and for reporting suspected tax fraud to the IRS, go online to  www.FTC.gov or notify the IRS Identity Protection Specialized Unit at 1-800-908-4490.

In 2012, the last year for which figures are available, the average number of patient visits per private practice solo practitioner (excluding appointments with hygienists) was 44.8 per week.  In practices with more than one dentist, the weekly average for patient visits was 49.3. (Source:  ADA Health Policy Resources Center survey)

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