What factor is critical to the review of diagnostic services by auditors?

The most critical factor in the review of diagnostic services by auditors is the high audit error rates. High error rates indicate potential areas of concern in billing, coding, and documentation practices. This could suggest issues such as improper coding of diagnoses, upcoding, or failure to meet medical necessity criteria. By focusing on the audit error rates, auditors can identify patterns that may indicate systemic problems within a practice's compliance and billing procedures.

Addressing high error rates is essential for ensuring that diagnostic services are billed correctly and in compliance with regulatory standards. This ultimately helps safeguard against unnecessary financial losses and potential legal issues for healthcare providers. High error rates also serve as indicators for the need for additional training or intervention to improve compliance and reduce errors, emphasizing the quality of care being provided.

Factors like low report frequency, availability of care providers, and patient satisfaction do play roles in overall practice assessment but do not directly impact the accuracy and compliance of the diagnostic service reviews in the same manner that audit error rates do.