Let’s take Medicare’s list of services included in global surgery payment up a notch. If you remember each added tip below, you’ll be more likely to avoid reporting both too many and too few codes. Read This Booklet to Dive Deeper The source of the straight-from-Medicare bullet points quoted below is Medicare’s Global Surgery Booklet. […]
Continue reading...2. May 2019
Determining date of service (DOS) can be harder than it seems. Once you dive into the world of professional/technical components, monitoring services, and other non-obvious DOS possibilities, things get complicated fast. You can use the Medicare rules below as a starting point. Apply Different Dates for Radiology Components For many radiology codes, the Medicare Physician […]
Continue reading...22. April 2019
For E/M, there has been a lot of attention on how the role of time will change in 2021. But what about right now? After this skill sharpener on time in the AMA CPT® E/M guidelines, you’ll have a better understanding of time’s current role in E/M coding. Where to Find AMA CPT® E/M Guidelines […]
Continue reading...11. April 2019
Time for an arthrocentesis refresher! Today we’re digging into the details of 20610 and 20611 with four questions and answers. 1. What Are the Major Components of These Codes? Let’s start by working our way through the code descriptors: 20610 (Arthrocentesis, aspiration and/or injection, major joint or bursa (eg, shoulder, hip, knee, subacromial bursa); without […]
Continue reading...8. April 2019
Audit discussions often focus on the fear of upcoding and having to hope that repaying the extra amount is the worst of the consequences. But downcoding is another problem area affecting your payments and more. Here’s why you should never purposely downcode your services. Start With a CERT Story Wondering about the $325 million in […]
Continue reading...4. April 2019
There’s been a lot of buzz about what Medicare has planned for E/M in 2021. One question all that raises is how it will mesh with AMA CPT® coding rules. Here are some hints from the February 2019 CPT® Editorial Summary of Panel Actions about what is in store for the code descriptors and guidelines. […]
Continue reading...25. March 2019
Urogynecology brings together urology and gynecology, specifically focusing on treating pelvic floor disorders. One diagnosis urogynecology coders need to be familiar with is cystocele, our topic for today. Tie Your Diagnosis to These ICD-10-CM Codes A cystocele occurs when the wall between the bladder and vagina weakens, causing a protrusion. You should report this condition […]
Continue reading...21. March 2019
Before you code debridement with shoulder arthroscopy, make sure you know what the Medicare Correct Coding Initiative (CCI) manual has to say. You’ll find the highlights here to help you get started. Where to look: You’ll find these instructions in chapter IV, section E, of the Medicare CCI manual. Same Shoulder? Stick to the Basic […]
Continue reading...15. March 2019
Supervision and interpretation, contrast, and images — these are all terms you need to know for radiology CPT® coding. The 70000 Radiology section guidelines are a good place to start for authoritative information. Helpful: If you use a paper CPT® manual, you are likely to find the Radiology section guidelines directly preceding the first 70000 […]
Continue reading...4. March 2019
Think Medicare’s April CCI updates are small potatoes? You may reevaluate that stance when you learn there are more than 11,000 additions planned for April 1, 2019. To help make it manageable, watch the three areas below. Our focus: The topic here is Medicare practitioner procedure-to-procedure (PTP) Correct Coding Initiative (CCI) edits that will be […]
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6. May 2019
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