SuperCoder Blog

If your job is to deliver accurate medical coding data fast, you know the consequences to your revenue if you don’t choose a reliable source for data files. Don’t take chances! With TCI SuperCoder’s Data Files, you get up-to-date data, customizable to your specific needs. Our quality-focused teams make sure the files are easy to integrate into your existing systems, which reduces downtime and helps prevent claim submission delays.

Tip: Ask about quarterly update options to ensure you have current data from Medicare, official code sets, and TCI’s own coder-designed resources. Check out the info below, and then contact our data file specialist Abbey at 239-280-4236 or …

When a payer reimburses for +99140 (Anesthesia complicated by emergency conditions (specify) …), you don’t want to miss legitimate opportunities to report that code. But knowing what qualifies as emergency conditions is a common stumbling block. Don’t let these three common pitfalls ruin your anesthesia coding accuracy.

1. When Delay Is Documented for the ‘Emergency’

According to CPT® guidelines with +99140, “An emergency is defined as existing when delay in treatment of the patient would lead to a significant increase in the threat to life or body part.” To support reporting +99140, documentation should include the specific …

All the discussions of risk adjustment have put a spotlight on diagnosis coding, and one big way cardiology coders can help is by ensuring they follow the official rules for coding and learn about coding comorbidities, too. Here are some good, old-fashioned rules that will also help ensure your pro-fee cardiology coding follows best practices and is ready to support proper payment in the future.

1. Understand the Role of Comorbidities

For risk adjustment, a simplified explanation is that a patient’s health status and spending are considered in relation to outcomes and costs. So a patient with diagnosis X …

There are a lot of possible variations for knee arthroscopy services, so you’ve got to know where to go for help on coding them. Make sure your knee arthroscopy claims don’t fall victim to these two error-causing myths! Follow the guidance in the Correct Coding Initiative manual.

Myth: Report G0289 Along With 29880/29881 for Chondroplasty

Orthopedic coders should know the general rule that Medicare allows you to report a knee arthroscopy code together with FBR/chondroplasty code G0289 (Arthroscopy, knee, surgical, …

DMEPOS had a 44 percent improper payment rate according to CERT’s 2017 Medicare FFS report. That’s high. Really high. So anyone submitting claims that fall under DMEPOS needs to be up on all the rules. One important area to watch is Medicare’s Master List of which codes require prior authorization. The recent annual update posted in the Federal Register makes this a good time to get to know the Master List.

CPT® 2018 introduced several changes for nasal/sinus endoscopy codes, sometimes referred to as FESS codes. Otolaryngology coders need some real anatomy-terminology skills to apply these codes correctly, so here’s your chance to sharpen your knowledge.

Look at the terms below. In some cases, you’ll see a related code tied to the term to help show how the term and coding connect. Match the term to the proper definition, and then check your answers at the end.

Ready, Set, Go Match These Terms!

1. Ethmoidectomy

Code example: 31253 (Nasal/sinus endoscopy, surgical with ethmoidectomy