3DPO certainly loves to travel, and never misses an opportunity to attend an event, or a class, or a seminar if offered the opportunity.  His most recent trip was to join Jamie Dean, Patient Services Representative, and Robert Tyler, CP for a session of the American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association’s Coding and Billing Seminar in San Antonio, TX. 

Dankmeyer staff regularly attend events to see what’s new in the field and make sure we are up to date on what is expected of us as providers of care to our patients. This seminar specifically dealt with medical coding and billing, which is how we tell insurance companies what we have provided to a patient so we can be reimbursed accordingly.   This would be a review class for 3DPO, as he had previously attended this seminar with Mark Treasure and Amy Smith.

Coding is the kind of thing that prosthetists, orthotists, patient services coordinators, and billing staff have to be familiar with!  Dankmeyer takes a great deal of care to be both accurate and prompt when filing claims.  This book from the seminar can be a very handy reference if there are any questions.  On top of that, codes are also listed on the Delivery Receipt that a patient signs when they get their device.  The code, the description of the code and the quantity received are all listed.  (There is a Q&A about the Delivery Receipt you can read by clicking here.)

Did you know, that a single prosthesis might have as little as one code and as many as 20 codes in order to file a claim for the patient?  

For Instance, a partial foot prosthesis could have just one Lcode:

L5000     Partial foot, shoe insert with longitudinal arch, toe filler.

Whereas a prosthesis with a Multiprocessor Knee could have as many as 20 codes!

There was time at lunch or after the day's classes were over to do a little sightseeing.  San Antonio is called Military City, USA because it has one of the nation's largest active and retired military populations.  In fact, Brooke Army Medical Center, or BAMC as it is known, is located in San Antonio and is the home of the Center for the Intrepid.  Opened in 2007 with over $62 million dollars in private funding, it is a rehab hub for troops recovering from burns, amputations and other serious injuries.  

The city is also very well known for the Riverwalk along the San Antonio River. The annual Fiesta River Parade is held during Fiesta - an annual two week celebration that ended the day before the seminar began, much to 3DPO's regret.  

And, of course, they had to make the trek to the most famous of all San Antonio destinations - The Alamo.  3DPO and Jamie visited the Alamo, which was founded in the 18th century as a mission and fortress.  It is currently a World Heritage Site, and is most well known as the site for the Battle of the Alamo, fought in 1836.  The battle was part of Texas' war for independence from Mexico when Texas became the Republic of Texas.  a little less than ten years later, Texas became the 28th US state.  

3DPO enjoyed his short visit to San Antonio and would like to return when he can participate in Fiesta!