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Orthopedic Coding Rules: Master the 'Multiple Scope' Rule

If your orthopedist carries out several procedures during a knee arthroscopy on the same patient on the same day, you will need to understand the multiple-scope rule to determine which procedures you can actually claim and get the payments too. Vital o... Read >

Documentation: Chief – Complaint Must Be Stated Clearly

Getting dinged on audits because you do not have a chief complaint listed at the tip of your physician's documentation? Do not give up until you check the entire note. Even though you will benefit from a chief complaint documented clearly at the start ... Read >

Optometry coding: Save 'foggy vision' for Secondary Dx

Question: "Many of our patients claim general reasons for their visit such as, "I cannot see well", or "My vision's foggy." We code these visits with 368.8 as the primary diagnosis as this is the primary reason for the visit. Any other problems or underly... Read >

G Codes Provide Easy Transition to Cms Final Rule

The passing of CMS' final rule for national coverage of pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) services, does not mean you are free from trouble when coding for your pulmonologist's outpatient PR program or expanded in-office PR services. But then worry not. Yo... Read >

Checkout New Options for Lymph Cancer Drug

Starting January 2011, you will have three new J codes for leukemia and lymphoma treatments available for use. J9302 answers call for Arzerra Code If you provide Arzerra injections, take note of this new code. Oncologists normally use the medication ... Read >

Distinguish Between Optic Nerve and Retina Laser Scans

Irritated by the the lack of specificity in scanning laser coding? Well, gear up for 2011 – the coming year's CPT manual will not only help you distinguish between anterior and posterior segment scanning, but also come up with just-in codes to distinguish... Read >

Pulmonary Coding:Do's and Don'ts of Inhaler Service Claims

The three things to remember when reporting for inhaler demo/evaluation are: (1) the type of device used, (2) documentation requirements and (3) qualifying modifiers. The following ‘yes' and ‘No' show you why some payers would deny payment for this servic... Read >

Few Internists Predicted to See Some Gains

You will have to gear up for another year of nail-biting to find out whether your Medicare payments will be slashed. Internists and physicians are not aware what will take place at the end of this month or when the calendar turns to 2011. Some just-in ... Read >

Brace For New Observation Codes

If you have been on the look out for a code to reflect the evaluation and management service your urologist carries out during a subsequent visit with a patient in observation care, there’s good news for you: CPT brings welcome relief in the form of 99224... Read >

Urology Practices to Be Hard Hit

Gear up for another nail-biting year to find out whether your Medicare payments will be slashed. The calendar year 2011 Physician Fee Schedule conversion factor is $25.5217. This amounts to a poor 30.7 percent cut as compared to the present rate of $36.87... Read >

Use EHRs to Your Advantage

Thinking about switching to an EHR system? You might have heard how one can improve the efficiency of your billing processes; however you might also be frightened by the significant upfront costs. So how do you balance the benefits with the expense? Rea... Read >

Coach Otolaryngologists to Write Iron-Clad Mdm Notes

You cannot get inside your ENT's head to figure out whether his MDM requires the E/M service code that he reported; but remember that Medicare auditors are training eyes on this area while examining E/M claims. Auditors are not scrutinizing the exam or... Read >

Tips to Keep Your Flu Shot Billing Simple

Intermediary warns that you shouldn't bill separately for vaccination supplies With fall comes flu season and a sea of questions about billing flu vaccinations. Here are some tips to keep your flu shot billing simple: Tip 1: Medicare covers only o... Read >

Do's And Don'ts of Inhaler Service Claims

Here are three things you should keep in mind when reporting inhaler demo/evaluation: 1) The type of device used 2) documentation requirements and 3) qualifying modifiers. The following do's and don'ts tell you why some payers would deny payment for this ... Read >

CPT 2011 Provides Codes to Distinguish Between Optic Nerve and Retinal Scans

Disturbed by the lack of specificity in scanning laser coding? Then gear up for the coming year – 2011's CPT manual will not only help you distinguish between anterior and posterior segment scanning, but also provide just-in codes to distinguish between o... Read >