Drug administration coding and billing remains a challenge despite no code changes in six years. Jugna Shah, MPH, and Valerie RInkle, MPA, examine how to apply the new -X{EPSU} modifiers with drug administration codes and review other common questions they receive about injections and infusions.
Coronary artery disease (CAD) develops when the arteries that supply the blood to the heart muscles become hardened and narrowed due to a buildup of cholesterol and other materials, such as plaque, on their inner wall. It's also called atherosclerosis.
As new and more effective treatment options are created and evaluated, AMA must update the CPT® Manual to add and revise codes that allow providers to accurately report the work they performed. The 2015 updates include more than 500 changes, including more than 250 new codes that impact nearly every section. In the 2015 CPT Manual, only the integumentary and respiratory system sections remain unchanged.
The switch to ICD-10-CM won't bring many changes in the codes for reporting genital prolapse, but understanding the nuances of the diagnoses is key for choosing the correct code. Lori-Lynne A. Webb, CPC, CCS-P, CCP, CHDA, CDIP, COBGC, highlights terms to look for in documentation and provides a sample operative report to test your knowledge.
After years of consideration, CMS introduced extensive changes for modifier -59 (distinct procedural service) for 2015. Jugna Shah, MPH , explains these changes and when to use the new modifiers instead of modifier -59.
In a concerted effort to move healthcare payments to a system of "quality over quantity," CMS finalized policies that greatly expanded packaging for outpatient providers in the 2015 OPPS final rule. It also introduced complexity adjustments with comprehensive APCs (C-APCs).
Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) procedures are not the only ones coders will report using the root operation Bypass in ICD-10-PCS. Surgeons can create bypasses in other vessels of the body.
The ICD-10 implementation delay mandated by Congress this spring granted providers an extra year to prepare their coders and clinicians on the requirements of the new code set, but a recent survey has found some organizations heading in the wrong direction.
The majority of providers either stopped or slowed their ICD-10 preparations as a result of the latest implementation delay, but now providers have less than a year to become ready. CMS' Denesecia Green and Stacey Shagena offer advice on how providers can create an action plan to be ready by October 1, 2015—even if they haven't started yet.
