VIDEO: The importance of the Physician Practice Information Survey and its impact on radiology reimbursements
Linda Wilgus from RBMA explains the importance of the Physician Practice Information (PPI) Survey and its impact on radiology reimbursements.
Linda Wilgus, CPA, CMPE, is the executive director and chief financial officer of Northwest Radiology Network in Indianapolis, and a past president of the Radiology Business Management Association (RBMA), explains the important of the Physician Practice Information Survey used in calculating radiology reimbursements.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services (CMS) collects data to set relative value units (RVUs) that eventually are used in the calculation of reimbursements. The delivery focuses specifically on the Physician Practice Information Survey (PPIS), which plays a big role in reimbursements. The last PPIS survey in 2007 only had 100 radiologists participate and only about 20 filled in the entire survey, yet this data is still used to help calculate reimbursements for all radiology studies more than a decade later.
The RBMA says the survey, last conducted in 2008, is flawed because only about 100 radiologists responded. Because it was complex to use, only about 20 radiologists filled out the full survey. The very limited amount of data from that survey has been what radiology Medicare reimbursements are based on today.
Wilgus said that limited data also no longer is representative of the actual costs hospitals and clinics incur when conducting imaging procedures. For this reason, she said, RBMA will work to raise awareness of—and boost participation in—an updated PPIS survey CMS is planning for this year.
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Dave Fornell has covered healthcare for more than 17 years, with a focus in cardiology and radiology. Fornell is a 5-time winner of a Jesse H. Neal Award, the most prestigious editorial honors in the field of specialized journalism. The wins included best technical content, best use of social media and best COVID-19 coverage. Fornell was also a three-time Neal finalist for best range of work by a single author. He produces more than 100 editorial videos each year, most of them interviews with key opinion leaders in medicine. He also writes technical articles, covers key trends, conducts video hospital site visits, and is very involved with social media. E-mail: dfornell@innovatehealthcare.com