It’s that time of year again and flu season is upon us.
For the season to run smoothly, you should review your current flu process and determine how you want to modify your flu vaccination approach in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Flu booths can be an especially effective way to vaccinate a large amount of patients at your facility, while maintaining appropriate social distancing measures Many patients will also obtain the flu vaccine during their regularly scheduled visit with their providers.
Flu booths allow you to see patients quickly and efficiently when the only reason for the visit is to obtain the vaccination. This requires coordination with many departments throughout your organization to create the booth with a confidential area, power, and a connection to your electronic medical record. You will need to determine how it will be structured, how appointments will be scheduled, who will update the patient’s registration, create an efficient way to document the injection in the patient’s medical record, and lastly ensure the vaccine is charged appropriately.
All areas will need to understand the process to document and bill for the flu vaccine. Planning considerations should include the following:
- Finalize the list of drugs you will have on hand and include the description, the CPT code, the Manufacturer and Trade name, how the drug is supplied, the administration route, NDC number and the diagnosis code
- Update the NDC number in your system so they will populate without issue when the CPT is selected
- Determine what visit type will be used for scheduling the patient
- Finalize the scheduling and registration process: will the patient self-schedule on MyChart or will they check in for the visit with your staff
- Create a smart set to document the visit with the patient
- Update the ‘Vaccine for Children’ questions to determine if the patient qualifies for a free vaccine
- Ensure the administration code is billed when the injection is given
- Establish a self-pay price that’s competitive with your local pharmacies
Once all the details have been finalized, document the information, and share with all service lines so they know how to correctly bill this flu season.
At The Wilshire Group our Strategic Advisors are comprised of a blend of individuals with operational and technical expertise, giving us an edge over the traditional Epic consulting company. Get more value for your consulting dollars by considering Wilshire for your next revenue cycle project. If you would like to learn more about the information in this blog post, please contact Carole Bodovinitz at c.bodovintiz@thewilshiregroup.net or visit our billing services page on our website.
