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Table 4 Effects of encounter and patient characteristics on E&M charge level

From: Following the money: copy-paste of lifestyle counseling documentation and provider billing

Variable

Estimate

95% Confidence limits

P- value

Odds ratio

Physical1

−2.59

−2.66

−2.52

<.0001

0.0753

Income ($1,000)

−0.00245

−0.00413

−0.000770

0.00440

0.998

Female2

−0.127

−0.183

−0.0714

<.0001

0.881

Caucasian3

0.653

0.589

0.718

<.0001

1.92

Government Insurance4

−0.335

−0.397

−0.273

<.0001

9.715

English is the primary language5

−0.189

−0.258

−0.120

<.0001

0.828

Age (Decade)

0.214

0.189

0.239

<.0001

1.24

Hemoglobin A1C (over 7%)†

−0.0170

−0.0277

−0.00619

0.00200

0.983

Hemoglobin A1C imputed6

0.275

0.240

0.310

<.0001

1.32

LDL cholesterol (over 100 mg/dL)†

0.0000170

−0.000820

0.000851

0.967

1.00

LDL imputed7

0.0513

0.0237

0.0788

0.000300

1.05

SBP (over 130 mmHg)

0.000884

−0.000430

0.00220

0.187

1.00

DBP (over 85 mmHg)

0.00230

−0.00210

0.00669

0.306

1.00

BP imputed8

−1.06

−1.10

−1.01

<.0001

0.347

CCI

−0.00524

−0.0124

0.00196

0.154

0.995

Total Active Medications

−0.00282

−0.00670

0.00105

0.153

0.997

BMI (over 25)*

0.00352

−0.000850

0.00789

0.114

1.00

BMI Imputed9

−0.0369

−0.127

0.0529

0.420

0.964

Anti-hyperglycemic medication intensification§

0.210

0.174

0.247

<.0001

1.23

Medications updated during the encounter

0.108

0.102

0.113

<.0001

1.11

Treatment with Insulin10

0.0562

0.0126

0.0998

0.0115

1.06

Note length (log)

0.793

0.773

0.814

<.0001

2.21

Acute complaints11

0.277

0.249

0.304

<.0001

1.32

Distinct counseling documentation‡12

0.272

0.242

0.302

<.0001

1.31

Copied counseling documentation‡12

0.336

0.276

0.395

<.0001

1.40

Documentation of time spent counseling13

1.37

1.11

1.63

<.0001

3.94

Interaction between documentation of time spent counseling & distinct counseling‡

0.330

0.0527

0.607

0.0196

1.39

Interaction between documentation of time spent counseling & copied counseling‡

−0.954

−1.31

−0.592

<.0001

0.39

  1. *Recorded closest in time to encounter.
  2. †Most recent measurement taken within 6 months prior to the encounter.
  3. ‡Encounters with no counseling documentation served as the reference.
  4. 1Reference category: encounter was billed as a follow-up visit.
  5. 2Reference category: male.
  6. 3Reference category: non-Caucasian.
  7. 4Reference category: private health insurance.
  8. 5Reference category: primary language other than English.
  9. 6Reference category: data available for hemoglobin A1c.
  10. 7Reference category: data available for LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol.
  11. 8Reference category: data available for blood pressure (BP).
  12. 9Reference category: data available for body mass index (BMI).
  13. 10Reference category: patients not treated with insulin.
  14. 11Reference category: no acute complaints documented for the encounter.
  15. 12Reference category: no lifestyle counseling documented.
  16. 13Reference category: time spent counseling not documented.
  17. A1C= Glycated hemoglobin. LDL=Low-density lipoprotein. SBP= Systolic blood pressure. DBP= Diastolic blood pressure. BP= Blood pressure. CCI= Charlson comorbidity index. BMI=Body mass index.
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BMC Health Services Research

ISSN: 1472-6963

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