AANA Fellowship Education - Orthopedic Business Issues: Billing and Coding, Contracting, Social Media/Patient Relations and Marketing-Presentation (PDF)

Presentation (PDF)

Pdf Summary

The AANA Fellowship Education Webinar held on June 22, 2021, focused on key orthopedic business issues: billing and coding, contracting, social media, patient relations, and marketing. Led by Dr. Eric I. Ferkel, with faculty including Drs. William Beach, Kevin Plancher, Louis McIntyre, and Jennifer Weiss, the session aimed to educate fellows and practitioners on practical business aspects of orthopedic practice.<br /><br />Contracting was emphasized as a critical negotiation process often misunderstood by new practitioners. Dr. Plancher highlighted the reality that many orthopedic surgeons leave their first job within five years due to financial, family, and business preparedness issues. Core advice included the importance of negotiating contracts before employment starts, awareness of restrictive clauses like non-competes, and the necessity of meeting leadership in potential practices. Differences between private practice and hospital employment contracts were discussed, pointing out traps such as sole discretion clauses, lack of performance metrics, and issues with malpractice coverage and compensation structures.<br /><br />Billing and coding, presented by Dr. McIntyre, covered the complexity of orthopedic E/M (evaluation and management) coding under 2021 CPT guidelines. The shift toward medical decision making (MDM) as the main determinant for coding levels, changes in time reporting, and the correct use of modifiers were underscored to optimize reimbursement. Emphasis was placed on understanding new guidelines where ancillary staff can collect data, and coding should reflect the complexity of problems, data reviewed, and risk.<br /><br />Dr. Weiss addressed social media strategies for orthopedic surgeons, focusing on ethical considerations such as patient consent and anonymization, organizational policy adherence, and the use of platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn for marketing, education, and community engagement.<br /><br />The webinar concluded with reminders about AANA membership benefits including lifelong learning, discounted courses, access to journals and data registries, mentorship programs, and practice management tools to support career advancement. Participants were encouraged to leverage these resources for successful orthopedic practice management.

Keywords

AANA Fellowship Education Webinar

Orthopedic business issues

Billing and coding

Contracting in orthopedics

Social media strategies

Patient relations

Marketing for orthopedic surgeons

Orthopedic practice management

2021 CPT guidelines

AANA membership benefits