Announcements
Fend Off Reimbursement, Coding Woes
AAO can help you resolve issues with third-party payers
If you are encountering problems with third-party payers or have coding and practice-management questions, call on the AAO’s Dental Benefits Advisory Service Hotline for assistance. The Dental Benefits Advisory Service Hotline is sponsored by the Council on Orthodontic Health Care (COHC) and is administered by staff members that have more than 20 years of experience in dealing with insurance payers, clinical aspects of orthodontic practice and office management. Hotline staff will discuss the issue with your office to determine the nature and extent of the problem. If the matter is easily resolved, hotline staff will offer strategies to handle the situation. If your issue is more complex or has become a chronic problem, you may be requested to complete an AAO Member Third-Party Payer Complaint Form. If the issue is critical, hotline staff will contact the payer for immediate relief.
AAO’s Council on Orthodontic Health Care has identified that the majority of calls received by the Hotline are related to dental coding issues. As a service to AAO members, the council developed the AAO At-A-Glance Guide (AAG) to CDT-2007 Version Orthodontic Codes. This sheet has extracted the most routinely used codes in an orthodontic practice from the complete CDT Manual, and the AAG is a quick reference tool for your coding staff.
Callers often need help locating codes for submitting dental procedures to medical insurance payers. The Hotline staff has access to and can provide you with the ICD-9 and CPT codes that are required for medical claims filing.
Hotline staff must stay abreast of dental industry trends and are able to offer information on current topics of interest, such as the recently mandated National Provider Identifier (NPI) initiative, and technological issues, such as Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) or electronic claims filing.
Contact the Hotline
For help with payer issues, contact Ann Sebaugh at 800-424-2841, ext. 582, or send an e-mail to asebaugh@aaortho.org.
Download the AAO Third-Party Payer Complaint Form or the AAO At-A-Glance Guide.
www.AAOmembers.org. > Practice Resources > Office Management > AAO Member Third-Party Complaint Form or AAO At-A-Glance Guide
Registration for the ABO First Recertification Examination
The 2009 ABO Clinical Examination will be held February 22 – 26 in Dallas, Texas.
Registration is now open thru November 1, 2008 or until maximum registrations are received. With over 2000 Gateway Diplomates we expect a large number to register for the 2009 exam, therefore, please register early.
Although Gateway certified orthodontists have five years to complete the First Recertification examination, the ABO encourages these Diplomates to take the First Recertification Examination as soon as possible. It is important to note that prompt completion of this examination will not reduce the duration of a Diplomate’s certification. It is advantageous to take your exam before your expiration date because if any of your cases are incomplete, you may keep your certification and return with a new case to replace any that were deemed incomplete. If you wait until the end of the 5-year certificate, you could risk losing your certification until all cases have passed the clinical exam. Please see our website for policies on Completion and Non-Completion of Exam.
In preparing to take the exam, please visit the ABO website regarding the 2009 Clinical Examination as well as the Calibration Kit and the latest version of all case report worksheets that may be used in preparation for electronic submission of the case report forms. The case report forms electronic submission process will be available after October 1 and you will receive further instructions at that time. In using the calibration kit the Board is providing the examinee with the same system used by the Directors. The Board encourages examinees to score their own dental casts and panoramic radiographs during their preparation for the clinical examination in order to select cases that will successfully pass the ABO Model Grading System.
Upon receipt of your registration form, we will send by e-mail an acknowledgement letter to you using the mandatory email address you provide on the form. We will alert you if you must be placed on a waiting list. Examination protocol requires you to setup your case display the day prior to your examination. In December you will receive your assigned exam day and hotel information.
We must inform you that all registrations are non-transferable. If you register for the 2009 exam and do not attend, you will forfeit your prepaid fee and you will have to pay the exam fee at the time when you register. Please contact our office if you have questions. We urge you to continue your status as a Diplomate of The American Board of Orthodontics.