AAGP received notification from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that the association’s request for a geriatric psychiatry specialty identification code has been approved. The approval culminates a process that began with AAGP’s original request to the agency in April 2007 and included personal meetings and conference calls with CMS staff to explain the need for this designation. Because the change will require adjustments to CMS enrollment and claims processing systems, CMS has advised AAGP that it anticipates that the new code will be implemented in April 2010.

There is currently no way for CMS to distinguish geriatric psychiatrists from other psychiatrists in the Medicare claims database. AAGP has long advocated for a separate specialty code for geriatric psychiatrists, so that Medicare’s billing for services provided by geriatric psychiatrists can be distinguished from the billing of non-geriatric psychiatrists. In this manner, data can be collected--and the work effort and practice expenses of geriatric psychiatrists can be identified. AAGP demonstrated to CMS that having access to information about beneficiaries treated by geriatric psychiatrists, including diagnoses, treatments, and utilization of services, will greatly enhance efforts to improve the quality and outcomes of care.

The American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry (www.AAGPonline.org) is a national association representing and serving its members and the field of geriatric psychiatry. AAGP’s mission is to enhance the knowledge base and standard of practice in geriatric psychiatry through education and research and to advocate for meeting the mental health needs of older Americans.

CONTACT:
Kate McDuffie, E-mail: kmcduffie@aagponline.org, Phone: 301.654.7850 x113