General Surgery Coding Alert

Don't limit E/M services to general surgeons in your practice.If you've been losing pay when a physician assistant (PA) or other appropriate caregiver performs E/M services in your surgical practice, recent changes could come to your rescue. You'll find revisions to more than 80 E/M codes in CPT® 2013 that allow you to bill services for certain "qualified healthcare professionals" other than physicians. We'll show you what you need to know now to take advantage of the change.Get Familiar With Code ModificationsThroughout the revised code definitions, CPT® 2013 makes certain additions and deletions to clarify who can bill for the E/M service.For example: The explanation with many E/M codes for settings from office to hospital now read, "Counseling and/or coordination of care with other physicians, other qualified health care professionals, or agencies are provided consistent with the nature of the problem(s) and the patient's and/or family's needs. ... Typically, XX [...]