Cardiology Coding Alert

ICD-9 may show why inpatient needs cardiologist and another MD. The 2010 fee schedule -- as expected -- confirms that for Medicare patients, you'll be skipping the 99241- 99255 (Consultations) section of CPT. With the loss of consult fees on the horizon, apply hese tips to boost your chances of capturing every E/M correctly the first time. Count Out Consults for Medicare Beneficiaries CMS has declared that consult codes are taboo for its patients: "Beginning January 1, 2010, we will eliminate the use of all consultation codes (inpatient and office/outpatient codes for various places of service except for telehealth consultation G codes) on a budget neutral basis by increasing the work RVUs [relative value units] for new and established office visits" and for initial hospital and initial nursing facility visits, the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) Final Rule notes. This decision means that in 2010, you will report an appropriate non-consult E/M [...]