Brad Howard is a Certified Professional Coder (CPC), Medical Auditor (CPMA) and Hematology/Oncology Coder (CHONC) who has worked in the inpatient, outpatient, emergency room and ambulatory surgery care settings over the last 20 years. With McKesson, his team supports outpatient practices with billing, coding and clinical documentation improvement initiatives. Brad enjoys providing education to physicians, non-physician practitioners, and practice administrators on topics meant to maximize reimbursement while mitigating audit risk, such as improving progress note composition, increasing specificity in diagnosis code selection, benchmarking Evaluation and Management services, and ensuring compliance with Incident-To billing guidelines. Brad lives in The Woodlands, Texas, with Kara, his wife of 23 years, and his son, Andrew, along with Toby, his German shepherd.
Historically, providers had to meet certain criteria and address three key areas in the patient’s progress notes: patient history, physical exam and medical decision making. CMS has eliminated the history and exam components as required elements for billing purposes, so medical decision making is now the sole driver of the level-of-service.