Tag Archives: CPT
News You Can Use: Stop Wondering: Congress Freezes Medicare Pay at 2012 Rates
Posted on 24. Apr, 2013 by rpandit.
However, don’t assume your HPSA bonus will continue.
As many practices are aware, medical offices nationwide were waiting to find out whether legislators halted a 26.5 percent pay cut that the 2013 Fee Schedule predicted, which would have brought the 2013 conversion factor down to $25.0008. In addition, practices were facing
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Medicare: Add to Your Add-On Code Savvy Using 3 CMS Tables
Posted on 08. Apr, 2013 by rpandit.
CCI takes note of these tables. Shouldn’t you?
CPT® doesn’t designate primary codes for every add-on code, but CMS offers a few clues in Transmittal 2636, Change Request 7501, effective April 1, 2013.
Background: An add-on code reports a service that is “always performed in conjunction with another primary service. An add-on code is eligible for payment only if it is reported with an appropriate primary procedure performed by the same practitioner. An add-on code is never eligible for payment if it is the only procedure reported by a practitioner,” states the Transmittal. “Rarely contractors may allow with appropriate submitted documentation, either pre-pay or on appeal, payment for a primary code and add-on code on two consecutive dates of service if the services are appropriately related.”
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You’re Saved From 26.5 Percent Physician Pay Cut
Posted on 08. Apr, 2013 by rpandit.
But RVU changes still in effect.
Optometrists can expect a reprieve from the dreaded 2013 pay cut to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS). Congress voted to halt the 26.5 percent rate cut that was tied to the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula.
| Physician Coder Though pay cut have been halted for now, getting the deserved reimbursement has become all the more important. Enhance your coding proficiency with Physician Coder- get latest coding changes, fee schedules, earn CEU’s and more! Click here to buy. |
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Dodge Denials with CPT↔ICD-9 CrossRef – Now Part of Coding Solutions!
Posted on 13. Feb, 2013 by rpandit.
Many SuperCoder.com subscribers asked for an ICD-9 to CPT® crosswalk and SuperCoder’s new CPT↔ICD-9 CrossRef fulfills that need with a standalone dual-entry tool plus CPT code suggestions on ICD-9 code details pages. Coders and billers can avoid the top denial reason by checking if an ICD-9 code matches the reported CPT® code and vise versa.
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Discover Documentation Hot Spots for Updated Chest Tube Codes
Posted on 22. Jan, 2013 by jennifer.godreau.
Technique, technique, technique! The just-published November 2012 CPT® Assistant highlights procedural technique as your key to interpreting 2013’s thoracentesis and tube thoracostomy codes. This issue’s collection of clinical examples will help you cut through the confusion so you can capture the correct code for your chest case.
You can pinpoint the official guidance you need from AMA’s CPT® Assistant with a quick search on SuperCoder’s Code Connect. Find the articles in the most recent issue by keying in the codes below into the code search box on Code Connect or any code search box and looking under the Code Connect tab:
Bronchospasm provocation and spirometry: 94010, 94070, 95070, 95071, 99070
- Eye paracentesis, anterior chamber: 65800-65815, 66020, 66030, 67500, 67515, 68200
- Nervous system testing, autonomic: 93660, 95921-95924, 95943
- Pleural drainage, thoracentesis, and thoracostomy: 32551, 32554-32557, 75989, 76604, 76942, 77002, 77012, 77021, 99143-99145
For answers to even more coding puzzles, make the most of CPT® Assistant FAQs. The November 2012 issue responds to real-world questions for these areas:
- Central venous catheter: 36568, 36569
- E/M, online: 99444, 99499
- Eyelid excision: 14000-14302, 67966
- Musculoskeletal surgery and repair: 25607, 27299, 27331, 27420
- Respiratory testing: 94010, 94620, 94621, 94799
- Trachea and larynx surgery: 31571, 31599, 31615
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SuperCoder.com Will Soon Include CrossRef, 100% Lay Terms, Illustrations
Posted on 21. Oct, 2010 by jennifer.godreau.
New CPT to ICD-9 ‘cross walk’ tool is available to members Nov. 1.
We’ve had so many requests for a CPT to ICD-9 “cross walk” that we moved up our implementation date for this popular denial combating tool to Nov. 1. Advantage members will be able to access the feature under Tools.
Coders are working weekends to bring to you live on Nov. 1, the surgical CPT procedure code to ICD-9-CM CrossRef. By Dec. 1, SuperCoder CPT to ICD-9-CM CrossRef will also include CPT radiology, pathology, and medicine codes. “The CrossRef lets a coder look up a surgical CPT procedure code and see which ICD-9 diagnosis codes Medicare and private payer allow,” explains Jen Godreau, CPC, CPEDC, content director for SuperCoder.com.
Denials for mismatched CPT and ICD-9 codes cost practices thousands of dollars every year. SuperCoder CrossRef will help
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Hip Arthroscopy, Observation Receive CPT 2011 Coding Updates
Posted on 30. Sep, 2010 by jennifer.godreau.
2991x, 9922x medical procedure CPT 2011 codes added.
If you’ve been frustrated about the lack of arthroscopic hip surgery codes that CPT offers, CPT 2011 will change that, with three new codes that debut on Jan. 1.
In fact, CPT will introduce over 200 new codes in 2011 to help keep your coding more specific than ever, spanning several categories, from dermatology to orthopedics to cardiology, and beyond.
In orthopedics, you’ll benefit from the following three hip arthroscopy codes, which will be excellent additions to CPT.
- 29914 – Arthroscopy, hip, surgical; with femoroplasty (ie, treatment of cam lesion)
- 29915 – Arthroscopy, hip, surgical; with acetabuloplasty (ie, treatment of pincer lesion)
- 29916 – Arthroscopy, hip, surgical; with labral repair
Check out New Observation Codes
CPT adds to your E/M coding options with the introduction of three new observation codes
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Urology Coding: Capture Kegel Exercise Pay With E/M
Posted on 08. Jun, 2010 by Editor.
Don’t assume 90911 is the correct code choice.
Question: Is there a procedure code for billing for Kegel exercise teaching? Can we use code 90911 or possibly 97110?
Answer: There are no specific CPT or HCPCS codes for the performance of or teaching of Kegel exercises. To bill for teaching a patient how to properly perform these exercises, a nurse or medical technician must document a brief history and physical examination as well as the indications for and the expected goals of the Kegel exercises. Under these circumstances, you can then report 99211 (Office or other outpatient visit for the evaluation and management of an established patient that may not require the presence of a physician …) for this encounter.
About the service: Kegel exercises are voluntary contraction and relaxation of the perineal musculature including the urinary sphincter (pelvic diaphragm). These exercises are usually performed outside of the office without medical staff supervision, and are a non-invasive and non-surgical treatment for female and occasionally male stress urinary incontinence.
Pitfall: You should only use
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Surgical Coders: Don’t Overstate Debridement
Posted on 20. May, 2010 by Editor.
Tip: This encounter involves topical applications and patient care instruction in addition to removing devitalized tissue.
Question: When the surgeon performs a wound VAC or cleans a wound by scraping with a sharp curette (not excising tissue), is it appropriate to use a debridement code or should we report an active wound care management code from the range 97597-97606?
Ohio Subscriber
Answer: Physicians typically use the debridement codes (11000-11001, Debridement of extensive eczematous or infected skin; … or 11004-11005, Debridement of skin, subcutaneous tissue, muscle and fascia for necrotizing soft tissue infection; …) for debridement by any method.
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Tune in to Video-Conference Cat. III Code
Posted on 30. Apr, 2010 by Editor.
Here’s what you need to explain in your cover letter.Continue Reading
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