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Home » Coding Alert
BILLING & CODING

Telehealth policy to change after the COVID-19 public health emergency

September 1, 2022 by

The COVID-19 public health emergency has been extended to Oct. 13. Of particular interest to medical practices is the continuation of telehealth flexibilities, which will expire at the end of the public health emergency. US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra officially renewed the declaration in mid-August. The emergency declaration has been in place since January 2020, and the latest renewal came as the Omicron offshoot BA.5, the most contagious variant yet, continues to stake its claim in the US. Daily case rates, though vastly undercounted, are the highest they’ve been in months, as are COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths. Data published in August by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that more than half of the country’s population lives in a county with a… . . . read more.

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CODING

New devices, technology dominate 2021 CPT code changes

March 28, 2021 by

By Lisa Eramo bio There is a whole slew of new and revised CPT codes—329 changes to be exact—effective since Jan. 1. This includes 206 new codes, 54 deletions, and 69 revisions. Interestingly, the majority of changes pertaining to new technology and devices, giving medical practices the opportunity to provide high-quality patient care while also receiving reimbursement. This article summarizes three notable changes. Retinal imaging using augmented intelligence The American Medical Association (AMA) added CPT code 92229 for retinal imaging with automated point-of-care analysis and report (unilateral or bilateral). Per the AMA, this technology better supports patient screening for diabetic retinopathy, and it increases the early detection and incorporation of findings into diabetes care. What’s interesting about this procedure is that it relies on augmented intelligence (AI) technology, says Kimberly Huey,… . . . read more.

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CODING ALERT

Physicians should consider these overlooked codes

June 12, 2020 by

By Lisa Eramo bio It’s a common complaint heard among primary care physicians: Evaluation and management (E/M) codes don’t adequately capture the time, skill, and resources necessary to plan and coordinate care for patients with complex medical needs. Although new, streamlined E/M guidelines for 2021 may help, several existing remedies can enable physicians to capture additional revenue for the services they provide. More specifically, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has published a list of 58 CPT codes that fall under the category of “longitudinal comprehensive care planning” (LCCP) for Medicare beneficiaries diagnosed with a serious or life-threatening illness. These codes include elements of shared decision-making through interdisciplinary care as well as development of a care plan to address the following: Progression of the disease and treatment options Beneficiary’s goals,… . . . read more.

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CODING ALERT

Reasons for health services encounter get codes in Chapter 21 of ICD-10

September 18, 2015 by

By Judy Monestime  bio
Codes included in Chapter 21, Factors influencing health status and contact with health services (Z00-Z99), represent reasons for encounter. Z codes are provided for encounters when circumstances other than diseases or injury are recorded in the medical record as the diagnosis.
The chapter includes the following sections…

 

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CODING ALERT

Frequently coded conditions in Chapter 4 of ICD-10 CM

September 4, 2015 by

By Judy Monestime  bio
Chapter 4 in ICD-10 CM contains codes for endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (E00-E89). The chapter includes frequently coded conditions such as disorders of the thyroid gland, obesity, dehydration, and diabetes mellitus…


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CODING ALERT

Multiple coding now required for nervous system diseases

August 14, 2015 by

By Judy Monestime  bio
ICD-10 CM’s Chapter 6 Diseases of the Nervous System (G00-G99) includes diseases of the central and peripheral nervous systems as well as epilepsy, migraine, and other headache syndromes. Many codes include a combination of conditions, such as persistent migraine aura with cerebral infarction, intractable (G43.61-).
The following conditions have been moved from ICD-9-CM Chapter 7: Diseases of the Circulatory System, to ICD-10-CM Chapter 6: basilar and carotid artery syndromes, transient global amnesia, and…

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CODING ALERT

Coding tips for respiratory diseases

July 31, 2015 by

By Judy Monestime  bio
ICD-10-CM Chapter 10, “Diseases of the Respiratory System (J00–J99),” identifies codes for a wide variety of pulmonary conditions, ranging from acute upper respiratory infections, pneumonia, influenza, asthma, as well as diseases of the lower respiratory tract including chronic lung diseases and diseases acquired from exposure to external substances. Intraoperative and postprocedural complications are also available to be coded in this chapter.
The chapter includes the following…

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CODING ALERT

ICD-10 is more detailed for osteoporosis and musculoskeletal conditions than ICD-9

July 3, 2015 by

ICD-10 M81 Osteoporosis without current pathological fracture
By Judy Monestime  bio
Chapter 13 Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue (M00-M99); M stands for Musculoskeletal, contains many more subchapters, categories, and codes than ICD-9-CM. Rather than having just four subchapters grouping many conditions together, ICD-10-CM organizes the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue in the following blocks:…

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CODING ALERT

Chapter 21: Factors influencing health status and contact with health services (Z00-Z99)

May 15, 2015 by

By Judy Monestime  bio
Chapter 21 in ICD-10-CM contains codes for factors influencing health status and contact with health services. There are differences in ICD-10-CM from what is currently found in ICD-9-CM.
Some categories in Chapter 21 have rephrased titles to better reflect the situations the codes classify. For example, elective, legal, or therapeutic abortions have been moved from ICD-9-CM Chapter 11, Complications of Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Puerperium, to ICD-10-CM Chapter 21. Also, several codes have been expanded in ICD-10-CM; for example…

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CODING ALERT

Chapter on diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue is a total revamp

April 9, 2015 by

By Judy Monestime  bio
ICD-10-CM Chapter 12, “Diseases of the Skin and Subcutaneous Tissue (L00-L99),” represents a complete restructuring to bring together groups of diseases that are related to one another in some way. For example, dermatitis and eczema are separated from urticaria and erythematous conditions. Additionally, greater specificity has been added to many of the codes at either the fourth, fifth or sixth character level. Most of these diagnoses codes will require additional documentation and queries for specificity. For example, laterality, site, and stage of…

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