SNAPP•Toberfest Wraps up This Week

Keynote speaker tonight and closing ceremony on Thursday

Tune in tonight and Thursday as we wrap up SNAPP•Toberfest with two high-impact events.

Presented by Alcon, keynote speaker Mick Kling, OD, founder and CEO of Invision Optometry and Impact Leadership, will analyze the significant interest that optometry has been receiving from private equity (PE) firms tonight at 8 p.m. EST. Historically, larger, well-established regional optometry and ophthalmology practices have been the target of these investors due to their existing operating infrastructure and significant market share. More recently, however, smaller independent practices have become the target of aggregation from multiple private equity investors offering various models of acquisition, depending on the long-range objectives of the investors.

Dr. Kling will discuss the current state of the private equity market and its potential impact on practice owners who may be considering a partnership or exit strategy with PE. He will review the players and the models and identify both the risks and opportunity of an acquisition.

Thursday evening’s closing ceremony kicks off at 7:30 p.m. EST with the exciting introduction of Bausch + Lomb INFUSE™ silicone hydrogel one-day contact lens. John Womack, OD, chief medical officer of Family first Vision Care and West Point Optical joins your SNAPP board for an information- and fun-filled closing night.

There’s still time to register for tonight’s and Thursday’s sessions if you haven’t yet registered. Come see what SNAPP is all about.

Did you get a Paycheck Protection Program loan? If so, you’ll want to tune into this YouTube presentation by Deen Gumerson, of AmCheck, a SNAPP sponsor.

The good news is that for those who received less than $50,000 in a PPP loan, it’s a blanket forgiveness as long as the funds were spent on qualified expenses.

Those who received more than $50,000 in PPP funds will need to complete the standard loan forgiveness application and collect payroll data. Gumerson details what’s needed and how the process has been playing out. Avoid repeating the mistakes others have made. Tune in here.

A significant change to the CPT code set is coming in 2021. These type of things normally cause the reader to emit an audible groan, but I think you might actually like these changes. Most of the changes occur to the E/M CPT codes.

A key change for the office and other outpatient E/M codes is that the time referenced in the 2021 code descriptors is total time. It’s important to note that this includes not only face-to-face time but also remote time spent by the provider.

The guidelines offer the examples of preparing for the visit (such as reviewing tests); getting or reviewing a history that was separately obtained; performing the exam; counseling and providing education to the patient, family or caregiver; ordering medicines, tests or procedures; communicating with other health care professionals; documenting information in the medical record; interpreting results and sharing that information with the patient, family or caregiver; and care coordination. It’s important to note that the total time should not include time for activities the clinical staff normally performs.

Let’s compare the wording on one of the codes as it is in 2020 vs. what it will be in 2021.

Old Code

99202
Office or other outpatient visit for the evaluation and management of a new patient, which requires these three key components:
• An expanded problem-focused history
• An expanded problem-focused examination
• Straightforward medical decision-making

Counseling and/or coordination of care with other physicians, other qualified health care professionals or agencies are provided consistent with the nature problem(s) and the patient’s and/or family’s needs.

Usually, the presenting problem(s) are of low to moderate severity. Typically, 20 minutes are spent face-to-face with the patient and/or family.

New Codes

99202
Office or other outpatient visit for the evaluation and management of a new patient, which requires a medically appropriate history and/or examination and straightforward medical decision-making. When using time for code selection, 15-29 minutes of the total time is spent on the date of the encounter.

The language for other E/M codes mimics the language listed above but have different time requirements. They are

“Medically appropriate” means that the physician or other qualified health care professional reporting the E/M determines the nature and extent of any history or exam for a particular service. Remember that code selection does not depend on the level of history or exam. That’s why the guidelines don’t quantify these elements.

COVID-19

Another change is the introduction to code 99072. This code was established to report additional practice expenses incurred during COVID-19, including supplies and additional clinical staff time. New code 99072 represents a new practice expense code specifically intended for use during a declared PHE as defined by law, due to respiratory-transmitted infectious disease.

What’s Next?

There are new codes for remote retinal imaging and changes to medical decision making that we will review in the next article(s). Be sure to check back in the upcoming newsletters!

SNAPP•Toberfest would not have been possible without the support of these sponsors! Thank you again for your support of this virtual gathering.

DIAMOND SPONSOR
CooperVision

PLATINUM SPONSOR
Bausch + Lomb

GOLD SPONSORS
ABB Optical Group • Alcon • Johnson & Johnson Vision • Transitions

SILVER SPONSORS
LensQuote • MacuHealth • MacuLogix

BRONZE SPONSORS
AmCheck Las Vegas • CardConnect • ECR Vault • LasikPlus • Luneau Technology • QMI • Optos • Practice Compliance Solutions • Uprise by VisionWeb • RightEye • Topcon • VisionWeb • Weave

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