So how would you like to explain this accident to your physician? Doctor, I was crossing the street wearing ice skates and was hit by a bicycle. Believe it or not, there’s an ICD-10-CM code for just...
One of the major changes to the 2013 CPT ® Manual is the replacement of the term "physician" with "physician or other qualified healthcare professional" in a wide range of codes. Marie Mindeman and Andrea Clark, RHIA, CCS, CPC-H, discuss how this change affects code assignment.
As part of the 2013 OPPS Final Rule, CMS made major changes to how it will reimburse facilities for separately payable drugs and how it will calculate APC relative weights. Jugna Shah, MPH, and Valerie Rinkle, MPA, review the most significant changes in the final rule.
Interventional radiology cases are often complex with confusing coding rules, especially for radiologic supervision and interpretation. Stacie L. Buck, RHIA, CCS-P, RCC, CIC, and Karna W. Morrow, CPC, RCC, CCS-P, lead you through the maze of coding these procedures.
CMS rescinded Transmittal 2607 and replaced it with Transmittal 2636 to update the add-on code edit file to include a change in the list of primary codes for CPT add-on code 90785 (interactive complexity).
Q: A patient went to the operating room under anesthesia for cataract extraction and repair of retinal detachment of the same eye. The surgeon successfully removed the cataract. The surgeon then accessed the back of the eye to begin to repair the detachment. After reviewing the condition of this eye area, the surgeon determined that the eye was in such bad shape it could not be saved, so the detachment was not repaired and surgery was ended. The patient was under anesthesia and the retinal detachment repair procedure was begun (although barely) but then cancelled. Should we report this procedure since the facility incurred expenses for the surgical attempt at repair?
It’s Groundhog Day…over and over in the comedy Groundhog Day. Poor Phil Connors (played by Bill Murray) does his best to escape the never-ending cycle by killing himself in some creative ways. It’s...
We’re all thinking about documentation specificity needs in ICD-10-CM/PCS as we prepare of the October 1, 2014 compliance deadline. Increased communication between physicians and coders is paramount...
One of the major changes to the 2013 CPT Manual is the replacement of the term "physician" with "physician or other qualified healthcare professional" (QHP) in a wide range of codes.
As Lucile Packard Children's Hospital in Palo Alto, Calif., implemented its EHR, the dreaded problem of copy and paste documentation began to rear its ugly head.
In times of increased auditor scrutiny, it's important for coders to remind themselves of their strengths. Assigning the POA indicator is one of them, according to an OIG report released in November 2012.
Physicians and other providers practice in many different areas within a hospital. To accurately code physician and provider services, coders must know and understand the place of service (POS) codes.
In this month's issue, we review the overhaul of CPT's psychiatry section and new codes for cardiology procedures, examine CPT's new provider neutrality language, and examine place of service codes.
As Lucile Packard Children's Hospital in Palo Alto, Calif., implemented its EHR, the dreaded problem of copy and paste documentation began to rear its ugly head.
The ICD-9-CM guidelines state that it's unusual for two or more diagnoses to meet the definition of principal diagnosis. However, coders know this isn't exactly true, as the scenario tends to occur frequently.
In November 2011, the FDA approved transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) to treat aortic valve stenosis for those patients who are not candidates for traditional open-heart surgery. This procedure is also referred to as a transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI).
