ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-CM differentiate between acute and chronic meniscus tears. Kristi Pollard, RHIT, CCS, CPC, CIRCC , and Gretchen Young-Charles, RHIA, review how to code these injuries in both systems.
The musculoskeletal and nervous system sections of the 2015 CPT Manual include dozens of new and revised codes to accommodate the latest technologies and procedures. Shannon E. McCall, RHIA, CCS, CCS-P, CPC, CPC-I, CEMC, CCDS, and Peggy Blue, MPH, CPC, CCS-P, CEMC, review the codes and highlight important instructional notes in the guidelines.
The implementation of Comprehensive APCs (C-APCs) in the 2015 OPPS final rule likely wasn't a huge surprise to most providers, given CMS discussed this concept in the 2014 final rule and indicated it expected to implement it the following year.
CMS' January I/OCE update brought many changes, including new codes, status indicators, and modifiers. Dave Fee, MBA, reviewsthe latest changes and when they will be implemented by CMS.
In the 2015 OPPS final rule, CMS introduced a new modifier for services provided in an off-campus, provider-based clinic. Jugna Shah, MPH, and Valerie Rinkle, MPA, review when the modifier will become required and how it should be reported.
Many coders and CDI specialists memorized previous Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting , Coding Clinic for ICD-9-CM and do not have to give them a lot of forethought before applying correctly to their day-to-day reviews. Although many of the Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting remain the same in ICD-10, none of Coding Clinic's previous advice can be applied to the new code set. Without years of new Coding Clinic advice under their belts, it may take some time before the staff exhibits the same ease when applying ICD-10-CM/PCS codes to the documentation provided.
In December 2014, CMS posted a document on its Advisory Panel on Hospital Outpatient Payment (HOP Panel) website outlining the hospital outpatient therapeutic services that were recently evaluated for a change in supervision levels. The three-page document contains a chart that includes the HCPCS code, the level of supervision required for coverage, and the effective dates of the changes for various services.
