A survey conducted by the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists indicates that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services decision to eliminate consultation codes will force four out of five endocrinologists to reduce the number of Medicare patients seen in their practices. The CMS decision, which will go into effect in January 2010, will no longer allow endocrinologists and other specialists to bill for consultations provided for patients referred to them by primary care physicians and written reports will no longer have to be provided to referring physicians, according to the AACE.
