Purpose
Supervision must be documented for every patient encounter during residency training. This is especially indicated when a bill is submitted to a payor for services performed with the involvement of a resident. The teaching physician must include an attestation documenting the level of resident involvement in the patient encounter. When submitted to CMS the GC modifier is also utilized to indicate that a resident, under the direction of a teaching physician, is involved in a patient encounter. We retrospectively reviewed our documentation of the teaching physician in a resident ophthalmology clinic. 

Methods
All patient encounters performed by ophthalmology residents over a 5-month period (January through May 2021) were retrospectively reviewed for appropriate documentation of the teaching physician. All patient encounters were supervised by teaching physicians in an outpatient ambulatory ophthalmology clinic at the Texas Diabetic Institute, San Antonio, TX. Each electronic medical record (EMR) was reviewed for appropriate documentation of the teaching attestation and GC modifier. The data was analyzed using R software. 

Results 
A total of 1,500 patient encounters were reviewed. All records (100%) documented the teaching attestation. The GC modifier was utilized in 1,388 of patient encounters (92.5%). January (95%) and May (88%) showed the highest and lowest compliance, respectively. The GC modifier was not documented in 7.5% of patient encounters.

Conclusion
All patient encounters included appropriate documentation of the teaching attestation. Residents in clinic have direct supervision by the teaching physician and the EMR sends all notes to teaching physicians to be signed and attested. In addition, all notes are reviewed internally for compliance and are amended if not documented appropriately. Compliance with the GC modifier was significantly lower. This is attributed to inadequate understanding of proper usage and that it may not be required by all payors. With recent increase emphasis on the attestation for all notes, providers are less enthusiastic to also ensure documentation of the GC modifier due to this redundancy. Good practices aim for 100% compliance in documentation. Both teaching and resident physicians should be educated on appropriate supervision and how it should be best documented in the medical record.

Compliance with Documenting the Presence of a Teaching Physician in a Resident Ophthalmology Clinic

Medical Education Innovation | Ophthalmology

poster

Welcome to the largest national, multi-specialty research event **featuring research from 750 medical students, residents and fellows, and international medical graduates.**


#### Event Details
The 2022 American Medical Association Research Challenge includes a poster symposium hall and a semifinals hall with the top scored research. Log in at any time throughout the event to:
* **View posters and presentations** on a variety of topics and specialties
* **Score posters in the semifinals** to help decide the top five finalists (AMA member exclusive opportunity)
* **Connect with participants** and provide feedback to help advance their research

At the conclusion of this event, the AMA will announce the top five finalists who will advance to the AMA Research Challenge finals, present their research to an elite panel of judges and compete to win a $10,000 grand prize sponsored by Laurel Road.
 

#### Attend Live Forums
**Oct. 20, 6 — 7 p.m. Central**
 **How to plan a career in academic medicine** 
 Learn how to plan a career in academic medicine and get your questions answered. [Access Here](https://underline.io/events/363/lounge)
 
 **Speakers**
![](https://assets.underline.io/uploads/markdown_image/1/image/d5adb133dfc58eb0a6d469e9cedcd5d4.jpg)
Ricardo Correa, MD, EdD
![](https://assets.underline.io/uploads/markdown_image/1/image/5f9437ab87861538bf02b9ca7c0d926e.jpg)
Stuart M. Greenstein, MD
![](https://assets.underline.io/uploads/markdown_image/1/image/05b1b637c99286d558c371f8e8b185ce.jpg)
Stephanie Strohbeen, MD
 
 **Oct. 22, 11 a.m. — Noon Central**
 **How to get published**
 Learn tips to get your research published and get your questions answered. [Access Here](https://underline.io/events/363/lounge)
 
 **Speakers**
![](https://assets.underline.io/uploads/markdown_image/1/image/8ce6235e957d31cb5e6f9097cc6f6972.jpg)
Jessica Li, MD/PhD Candidate
![](https://assets.underline.io/uploads/markdown_image/1/image/9950ef2e0237f54cb3d8280334d42491.jpg)
Charles Lopresto, DO

### Sponsor
AMA would like to thank Laurel Road for sponsoring a $10,000 grand prize for the winner of the AMA Research Challenge. Laurel Road is not involved in the judging or scoring process to select the winner. The winner will be announced on Dec. 7 during the AMA Research Challenge finals. Payment of the grand prize will be directly from Laurel Road. See the AMA Research Challenge Official Rules for terms and conditions.

![](https://assets.underline.io/uploads/markdown_image/1/image/611e331d4a0eba0920f240cfc04b4d77.png)

**There is no registration fee for this event! **

Register to explore research in a variety of topics. AMA members get exclusive access to score posters in the semifinals.

**Please use the link below to register for free if you have not already done so:**

https://www.ama-assn.org/about/events/ama-research-challenge

Registration Is Required

AMA Research Challenge 2022

Welcome to the largest national, multi-specialty research event featuring research from 750 medical students, residents and fellows, and international medical graduates.


Angelica Garcia

1

SHORT BIO

Presentations

Compliance with Documenting the Presence of a Teaching Physician in a Resident Ophthalmology Clinic

Stay up to date with the latest Underline news!

PRESENTATIONS

CONFERENCES

COMPANY

RESOURCES