by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Dec 11, 2023 | Fight the Good Fight
The day after Thanksgiving, I underwent an emergency laparotomy for an internal herniation of the small bowel. I haven’t made a secret of the fact that I had weight loss surgery about 18 years ago. A “Peterson’s internal hernia” is a rare but known complication of...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Dec 8, 2023 | Fight the Good Fight, Medicare Audits
This is part of my series of articles about Useful Information on Medicare Audits. Here are the “reasons for denial” codes for hyperbaric oxygen therapy posted on the Palmetto website. Although they are posted on the Palmetto website, these come from CMS and thus are...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Dec 7, 2023 | Cellular / Tissue-Based Products, CTP / Skin Substitutes
(Including How to Make it More Equitable for Practitioners & Patients) I got this thoughtful email from Dr. Timothy Johnson with a list of practical suggestions to help fix the broken system around CTPs/skin subs. He has given me permission to post his comments....
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Dec 5, 2023 | Fight the Good Fight, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, Medicare Audits
This is part of my series of articles about Useful Information on Medicare Audits. Noridian is the MAC for Medicare A/B of: Region E: California, Hawaii, Nevada, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands Region F: Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota,...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Dec 1, 2023 | Fight the Good Fight, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
The Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) working in collaboration with the Alliance of Wound Care Stakeholders and many other organizations is asking for your help to stop the proposed drastic cut in facility fees for hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Please follow...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Nov 30, 2023 | Fight the Good Fight
Check out this Medical Student Survey: Risks and Prevention of Barotrauma in Hyperbaric Facilities by the Undersea & Hyperbaric Medical Society. Please submit your response latest by February 1, 2024. Thank you so much for your contributions and volunteerism!...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Nov 29, 2023 | Dr. Helen Gelly, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
Tis the season for surprises, but not all of them are joyous, and some are downright disasters. Unfortunately, the surprise CMS dropped in November cannot be passed on at your next white elephant holiday party. There have been a lot of questions and angst surrounding...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Nov 27, 2023 | Featured, Medicare Audits
I am posting a series of articles with information directly from the websites of the various MACs. Anyone can access this information so I feel a little silly posting it, but several clinicians have told me about audits they are undergoing and they had not paid...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Nov 22, 2023 | Fight the Good Fight, Miscellaneous Musings
It’s the holidays so most people can expect to watch the scales move up. A WebMD article about holiday weight gain suggests that the problem is not that people gain a lot of weight during the holiday season but that they gain a little every holiday season —...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Nov 21, 2023 | Fight the Good Fight, Medicare Audits
This is part of my series of articles about Useful Information on Medicare Audits. Palmetto is the MAC for: Region J: Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee (Region J) Region M: North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia (excludes Part B for the counties of...
