The House of Representatives recently passed a bill that would impact supervision levels for certain outpatient services. Debbie Mackaman, RHIA, CPCO , reviews the impact of the legislation and which provider types and services it would affect.
CMS finalized a new data collection requirement for services performed in off-campus, provider-based clinics in the 2015 OPPS final rule , which was released October 31.
Q: I work in a large, provider-based orthopedic clinic with a rheumatology department that has many patients who are very ill with several comorbid conditions. Does the physician need to document every comorbid condition that impacts his or her medical decision making for each encounter? Do we need to code every comorbidity each time in order to meet hierarchical condition category (HCC) requirements?
Coders aren’t the only ones who run into problems due to a lack of complete physician documentation. Lack of sufficient documentation also causes problems for audit review of submitted claims, which in turn leads to delays in payment, according to the October 2014 Medicare Quarterly Provider Compliance Newsletter .
When is a mammogram a screening procedure and when does it qualify as a diagnostic test? Lori-Lynne A. Webb, CPC, CCS-P, CCP, CHDA, COBGC, outlines the differences between the two and what to look for in the documentation.
With the increased specificity required for ICD-10-CM coding, coders need a solid foundation in anatomy and physiology. Review the anatomy of the thoracic cage and coding concepts in ICD-10-CM related to coding diagnoses of this region.
Q: Do any general guidelines exist for queries on outpatient services? We are beginning the process of developing such a query system for our hospital outpatient services and clinical documentation team.
Steven Espinosa , CCS , AHIMA-approved ICD-10-CM/PCS trainer, and Denise Williams, RN, CPC-H, outline the anatomy of the upper gastrointestinal system and how anatomical details, along with the provider's approach and intent, help determine the proper procedure code.
Coding for endovascular revascularization requires following a unique hierarchy and specific guidelines. Caren J. Swartz, CPC-I, CPC-H, CPMA, CPB , and Denise Williams, RN, CPC-H , look at the anatomy of the lower body and the necessary documentation to report these services.
In its latest survey of the healthcare industry's ICD-10 readiness, the Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI) found that this year's delay negatively impacted provider progress, with two-thirds reporting slowing down or putting implementation initiatives on hold as a result.
Q: A patient was in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber for eight minutes and the physician had to abort the treatment because the patient was feeling anxious. Which HCPCS/CPT ® code should the hospital bill: HCPCS code C1300 (hyperbaric oxygen under pressure, full body chamber, per 30 minute interval) or an E/M code? Which code should the supervising physician bill: CPT code 99183 (physician or other qualified healthcare professional attendance and supervision of hyperbaric oxygen therapy, per session) or an E/M code?
The October update to the OPPS and Integrated Outpatient Code Editor (I/OCE) includes a payment correction, in addition to new HCPCS codes and other changes. Dave Fee, MBA, reviews CMS' changes and details the retroactive payment correction.
Evaluation and management services continue to be a major target for auditors. In the second part of a series, Lori-Lynne A. Webb, CPC, CCS-P, CCP, CHDA, COBGC, writes about frequently targeted areas providers can review in order to protect against audits.
ICD-10-CM readiness goes beyond training coders on the new code set. Rhonda Buckholtz , Wendy Aiken, and Sid Hebert, look at the impact of implementation on physicians and payers, and how providers can ease the transition.
Most diabetes codes in ICD-10-CM include more details than ICD-9-CM codes, but coders also need to consider additional codes. Jillian Harrington, MHA, CPC, CPC-I, CPC-P, CCS, CCS-P, MHP , and Rhonda Buckholtz, CPC, CPMA, CPC-I, CGSC, COBGC, CPEDC, CENTC, review key aspects for coding diabetes in ICD-10-CM.
Q: What if the provider states that diabetes is due to the adverse effects of a drug, but doesn't tell us which drug? How do we report that in ICD-10-CM?
ICD-10 implementation will impact different specialties and hospital departments in distinct ways. Andrew D. Boyd, MD, and Neeta K. Venepalli, MD, MBA , recently conducted a pair of studies to determine the financial and informational impact of ICD-10 on a variety of specialties.
CMS recently updated the Medicare Claims Processing Manual , with changes announced in Transmittal 3020 , to include ICD-10-specific language ahead of next year's implementation.
The ICD-10-CM delay has at least one silver lining: the ability to spend more time on coding and documentation requirements before implementation. Providers may want to also think about aligning their ICD-10-CM efforts with outpatient clinical documentation improvement (CDI) during this time. Elaine King, MHS, RHIA, CHP, CHDA, CDIP, examines the benefits and challenges of outpatient CDI programs.
CMS is introducing four new HCPCS modifiers to specifically define subsets of modifier -59 (distinct procedural service), the most frequently used modifier.
