Cardiology Coding Alert
Wondering Where the HCPCS Updates Are?
You should have them before Thanksgiving.
CMS has announced that it expects to publish HCPCS 2014 codes by Nov. 27, 2013. Some of the uncertainty is because CMS is “still assessing the impact of the partial government shutdown on completion of the calendar year 2014 HCPCS coding business,” CMS stated in a “What’s New” posting on the HCPCS page at www.cms.gov/Medicare/Coding/MedHCPCSGenInfo/index.html (accessed Nov. 7, 2013). January 1 implementation is still the plan, unless the file specifies otherwise.
Checking the HCPCS 2014 release will be worthwhile. As reported in Cardiology Coding Alert (vol. 16, no. 6), CMS posted a preliminary decision to discontinue current adenosine code J0152 (Injection, adenosine for diagnostic use, 30 mg [not to be used to report any adenosine phosphate compounds; instead use A9270]). CMS proposed to introduce a new J code in its place, changing the per-unit amount from 30 mg to 1 mg in the definition: Injection, adenosine for diagnostic use, 1 mg (not to be used to report any adenosine phosphate compounds; instead use A9270).
Cardiology Coding Alert
- CPT® 2014:
Get to Know the Aorta to Apply 34841-34848 With Precision
FEVAR moves from Category III to Category I in January. Your visceral aorta repair coding [...] - CPT® 2014:
33366 Takes the Place of 0318T Next Year
Be sure the whole TAVR team is in the loop. Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) [...] - CPT® 2014:
Stay Alert to Catch Changes to Cardiac Event Recorder Codes 33282 and 33284
Check symbols, not definitions. Determining why codes 33282 (Implantation of patient-activated cardiac event recorder) and [...] - CPT® 2014:
Keep an Eye Out for Opportunities to Use New Phone/Internet Consult Codes
99446-99449 require a verbal report and a written report. Starting January 1, CPT® will offer [...] - CPT® 2014:
93653, 93654, 93656 Revision Status Is Explained
These definitions went into effect in 2013. Your CPT® 2014 resource will probably mark codes [...] - CPT® 2014:
Factor These 4 Category III Code Options Into Your Cardiology Game Plan
Don’t ignore the valve repair codes effective in January but absent from the codebook. Up [...] - You Be the Coder:
Beware of Reporting Bilateral Services Twice
Question: How do you bill 36245-50 bilaterally? Does the 50 modifier tell them it was [...] - News You Can Use:
Wondering Where the HCPCS Updates Are?
You should have them before Thanksgiving. CMS has announced that it expects to publish HCPCS [...] - ICD-10-CM:
R07.89 Lets You Report Chest Pressure and More as of Oct. 1
Following inclusion notes will keep your coding on track. Once ICD-10-CM is implemented on Oct. [...] - Reader Question:
Transition to New CMS-1500 in 2014
Question: How will the CMS 1500 form change to allow ICD-10-CM reporting? Vermont Subscriber Answer: [...] - Reader Question:
Overlapping Anatomy Can Cause 76700/76770 Problems
Question: Our referring physician requests abdominal and renal ultrasound together. Can we bill abdominal (76700) [...]
