Gastroenterology Coding Alert

Uncover how a pathology report can save your claim.Not all patients who present to the office with colon polyps will be diagnosed with colon cancer. This second-leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the US usually begins as small, benign adenomatous lump, and becomes cancerous overtime.Colon cancer, or colorectal cancer as it's regularly known, is a cancer which starts in the large bowel portion of the gastrointestinal (GI) system. Because it comes in many forms and symptoms, coding the definitive diagnosis might be risky. Guard your practice's deserved dollars with these 3 tips.1. Don't Go Looking For 'Benign', 'Malignant'Whether or not you're dealing with a full-blown colorectal cancer, you should be looking at the different terms used to describe benign or malignant colonic polyps. Some of these include:Adenomas including tubular adenomas and tubulovillous adenomasHyperplastic polypsInflammatory polypsFamilial adenomatous polyposis, a rare hereditary disorder that causes hundreds of polyps in the lining of [...]