Regulatory and Coding
When a law is passed related to the practice of optometry, it’s up to the regulatory process to define the details. Everything from how much Medicare pays for an eye exam to what, exactly, constitutes a prescription verification is determined by the regulatory agencies of the federal government.
As a legislated profession, optometry is defined by the laws governing its practice. However, legislation rarely determines the finer points of the law. Staff and volunteers in the AOA Advocacy Group work with regulatory agencies every day to define the details that determine the impact of legislation on doctors of optometry and their patients. This happens in the form of official comment letters, meetings with federal officials, collaboration with others in the health care community, consultation with doctors regarding the precise details that go into a single Medicare code, the development of an optometric registry and much more.
Personal protective equipment during the global pandemic
On Sept. 8, 2020, a new CPT code has been developed for PPE supplies and will be implemented immediately. This new code, CPT 99072 describes, “Additional supplies, materials, and clinical staff time over and above those usually included in an office visit or other non-facility service(s), when performed during a Public Health Emergency as defined by law, due to respiratory-transmitted infectious disease.”
Compliancy Group provides AOA members with the total solution to the challenges of HIPAA compliance.
AOA MORE is a secure, private database provided to AOA members that aggregates anonymous patient data from EHR vendors to help improve patient clinical outcomes, procedures and best practices.
Infomation for financial assistance, new telehealth guidelines, reopoening practices and more.
‘High sight’ impairs contrast sensitivity, visual acuity
New study details the adverse effects on certain visual functions immediately following marijuana use.
Feds accelerate COVID-19 vaccination pace, AOA offers vaccinators’ webinar
U.S. health authorities spur next phase of COVID-19 vaccination rollout, dramatically expanding supply and administration sites, as optometry explores going from vaccinated to vaccinator.
President Biden extends AOA-, AOSA-backed federal student loan relief through September
With a stroke of a pen, new President Joe Biden extended the moratorium on repayment of federal student loans through Sept. 30, 2021. With the average optometry student’s loan debt at graduation being close to $200,000, the AOA and the American Optometric Student Association (AOSA) are working to ensure concerns of students and doctors of optometry are front and center.