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- Podiatrist
"Hahaha, so doc you went to school all these years to cut nails."
"So why do you have to go to school for so long just to cut nails"
Consider the fact that the guy I work with cuts every plantar fasciitis patient a felt pad to try before he tries a $26 OTC Spenco orthotic. Literally my nurses take turns pre-cutting hundreds of felt pads out of a felt sheet and then he goes back and adds squishy posting padding to everyone's orthotics.
Not commenting on the practice of using felt pads but why would he pay nurses (or any other human employee) $15 - $40 per hour to cut felt when he could buy bulk pre-cut Hapads for a few dollars each???
Oh my god I hate this. We've all been asked this. When I read this I actually got physically angry. lol.
"So why do you have to go to school for so long just to cut nails"
We really do need to change the perception of podiatry. So many people, MDs included, think we do nothing but bust nails all day.
Reading this thread makes me die a little bit inside.
Those RFC patients that you provide exceptional service to will be your main referral sources for other MSK pathologies down the line
Those patients will return to their PCP and speak highly of you and the PCP will send you even more patients with MSK pathologies.
Oh my god I hate this. We've all been asked this. When I read this I actually got physically angry. lol.
"So why do you have to go to school for so long just to cut nails"
We really do need to change the perception of podiatry. So many people, MDs included, think we do nothing but bust nails all day.
I formally discharged a patient from my practice once because his daughter said that to me with a condescending tone. Both the patient and the daughter laughed their asses off while I thought I was providing "much needed service".
I mailed the discharge letter the next day.
We all need to demand respect from our patients. If they don't they can seek care elsewhere which will most likely be an inconvenience to them. Especially if they have Medicaid.
Was this particular patient a Medicaid patient?
We all need to demand respect from our patients.
. I had an attenting who told me not to start off doing nails because if I do thats all I will get. That attening was right. In 2 years I built a MSK practice. I was pretty slow at first. But I got it going and I am happy I did.
PCPs actually want someone to refer foot pathology to they just dont know who to give it to. If you prove to the PCP you're a glorified nail tech then thats what youre going to get. Prove to them that you know foot/ankle surgery and youre going to get foot/ankle surgery.
But... We cant all be foot/ankle surgeons.
.Actually. No. Dont practice in NY.
The AOFAS released a statement about 3-5 years ago that quoted what godfather said above. They basically pointed out that DPMs are pedicurist (and backed it up w billing) and shouldnt be surgeons.
LOL!!
I should retract a bit. I really despise podiatrists who refer to themselves as "foot and ankle surgeons" and ignore the DPM.
Table 1 Top 10 CPT Code By Frequency Billed To Medicare in 2000 1 11721 6 11719 2 99212 7 11056 3 99213 8 11730 4 11720 9 99202 5 11040 10 G0127
... the majority of codes above are involved with something to do with a NAIL and RFC.... come on guys lets cut it out .. this is podiatry this is what puts food on the table .... future and current students please look at these codes very well, THIS is the culmination of everything you are doing now and going to do ... its all leads to those handful of codes lol
The fact that these codes are so common doesn't make them the most valuable or the most profitable. Nor does it mean that an individual's practice will ultimately devolve into primarily billing the codes above. It is relatively meaningless in any discussion regarding "value" that a particular pathology brings to your practice. Which is the discussion we were having. Your goal shouldn't necessarily be to perform zero RFC, but if you'd like to increase your PPV, hourly revenue, profitability, etc. then your goal should be to limit RFC.
Medicare pays more than $145 for a 11721+11056
As I stated previously, in my practice, medicare pays more for a 11721 than many of my private plans pay for a 99213.
I was under the impression that code combinations that are subject to MPPR are set by CMS, not by the individual contractor
On edit: I just looked at the Medicare Fee Schedule Look-Up tool. The Mult Proc value for 11720/11721 is 0 so therefore there shouldn't be any reduction in the fee.
If it does I’ll move to New York or California and get paid the big bucks for that kind of work.
Edit: in hindsight, this probably would've been taken offensively by anonymous attendings floating in the electron interwebs. Apologies.
The conclusion reached here is incredibly misleading. Nail codes will always be the most common codes billed by podiatrists nationally. What other medical professional bills 11721, 11720, 11719, 11056, or G0127? As I mentioned before, these patients cannot get this service done anywhere else and have it covered by insurance. Are we supposed to be surprised that those codes are so prevalent within the only profession that bills them?
The fact that these codes are so common doesn't make them the most valuable or the most profitable. Nor does it mean that an individual's practice will ultimately devolve into primarily billing the codes above. It is relatively meaningless in any discussion regarding "value" that a particular pathology brings to your practice. Which is the discussion we were having. Your goal shouldn't necessarily be to perform zero RFC, but if you'd like to increase your PPV, hourly revenue, profitability, etc. then your goal should be to limit RFC.
MSK pathology is more valuable than RFC. Period. This isn't a controversial or even arguable fact. RFC pathology has nowhere else to go for treatment, everything else we see does. Ortho, Derm, UC docs, NPs, FP docs, etc. can treat MSK problems, skin lesions, ingrowns, and everything else that isn't cutting old people's toenails. Purposefully building your practice around RFC because they are the most common codes billed by other podiatrists is a bad idea. Believing that 11721 will inevitably be the most common code you bill because you are a podiatrist is dumb.
But hey, go ahead and fill up your clinic with RFC, dispense DM shoes, have a Vionic shoe store in your lobby...that's the Podiatric recipe for success
I guess I’d be surprised if they magically do it in the northeast
dont get things twisted either, we do the 10K+ bunions and 20k+ flatfoots when the OUT OF NET patient walks in and complains about it ... NYC BABY!!... "where the money is"
Personally I can’t believe Derm (or F/A Ortho, after all they should be doing something to catch up with the rest of their colleagues from a revenue standpoint) hasn’t jumped all over this 11721 gold mine we have going on in Podiatry...
So you could spend time and energy building a practice where you get paid $10k for a bunion and $20k for a flatfoot and you’re talking about how valuable RFC is?
Im not the only person that sees the problem with this logic...right?
I was into it going into podiatry but after many, many years I got sick of it and decided that I would only do the things that I want in order to have a nice, long, happy career without burnout. My practice is well-established and I have built a local reputation so I have the choice to do this. Agreed that new docs might not want to be as selective (at least at first).It is funny going into Podiatry and somehow despising at risk nail care. Makes no sense to me.
From a financial standpoint, there is no argument that MSK pathologies pays more. Sure if anyone have a choice, you will only take MSK pathologies, but life does not always give you what you want.
I have a question to members on this forum for a hypothetical situation, If given the choice, 20 patients a day (15 MSK and 5 at risk nail care) or see 15 patients a day (all MSK). I will pick to see the 20. I think this is where the argument boils down too.
MSK patients "come and go" You get 2 or maybe 3 visits out of them, they get better and they are gone. Nail care patients remain with you for many years. They are easy going, very appreciative and most them requests very little from you.
But in reality, most successful private practice sees "all patient" with foot and ankle pathology. You can choose to limit the amount of RFC patients but this is leaving money on the table.
The argument looks like an "either or" argument. You either do MSK, wound care, etc or RFC. But in reality, most successful private practice sees "all patient" with foot and ankle pathology. You can choose to limit the amount of RFC patients but this is leaving money on the table.
You can argue to limit the amount of nail care patients which is a no-brainer but most people here make it sound like doing nail care is a taboo and only done by "less trained" podiatrist which is ridiculous.
MSK patients "come and go" You get 2 or maybe 3 visits out of them, they get better and they are gone. Nail care patients remain with you for many years. They are easy going, very appreciative and most them requests very little from you.
It is funny going into Podiatry and somehow despising at risk nail care. Makes no sense to me.
Nobody is despising RFC.
Just just drop the lotion and dremel DOCTOR
Then watch your office phone lines light up!
I was into it going into podiatry but after many, many years I got sick of it and decided that I would only do the things that I want in order to have a nice, long, happy career without burnout. My practice is well-established and I have built a local reputation so I have the choice to do this. Agreed that new docs might not want to be as selective (at least at first).
I pick 15 with open slots for same-day appointments. Lo and behold, those open slots often fill with new patients and acute issues. If those slots don't fill I leave early and go ride my mountain bike.
Nobody is despising RFC.
Just just drop the lotion and dremel DOCTOR
I will still pick 20 and still see all same-day appointments and fill them up with walk-ins, with new patients and acute issues. Once again it is not an "either or" issue. I am still a fairly new attending, I want to see all the foot and ankle pathologies that walk through the door including the at risk nail care that everyone despises, I don't want to limit myself or my patient schedule, and I have no intention on going home early to ride mountain bikes YET.
I still have student loans to pay off lol
Makes sense. I'm out of debt 20 years into this career so I don't have as much pressure to pack the schedule.
Immediately introduce yourself as Dr.... when you enter the room. Don't be afraid to politely correct them.I've had a few new patients recently refer to me by my first name first time meeting them.
I dont know why that bothers me so much but it does.
I busted my ass for 7 years (and continue to..) to be where I am. At least aknowledge it.