Billing Errors A Costly Drag On Health System

It's no secret that doctors who specialize in a field of medicine tend to be paid more for their services than a primary care physician. Many reasons account for this disparity, but one stands out as a surprise: billing errors. At root, the problem involves incentives related to medical coding. Medicare divides referrals into two categories, consultations and regular referrals. Consultations are a type of referral reserved for cases when the primary provider cannot comfortably make an accurate diagnosis.