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Neurosurgery Coding Alert

Procedure Focus:
Ascertain Anatomy For Occipital And Trigeminal Nerve Procedures
Do not limit yourself to 64405 and 64400. Trigeminal and occipital nerve blocks for he... Read more
Build Basis For Occipital and Trigeminal Nerve Anatomy
You will come across three distinct sets of occipital nerves in the body, so you’l... Read more
Modifier Update:
ABNs Come To Your Rescue For Uncovered And Excessive Services
Modifiers GA, GY, and GZ can justify why your patient signed the ABN. Advance benefici... Read more
News:
CMS Celebrates Celestial Success For ICD-10
MACs make demand for signatures on appeals. Practices have experienced the transition ... Read more
Reader Question:
Count Days and Not Adhesions for Epidural Adhesiolysis
Question: Our surgeon inserted a spinal epidural catheter to break spinal adhesions and ... Read more
Reader Question:
Turn To S13 for Neck Sprain
Question: Our physician documented a diagnosis of neck sprain in a patient who repo... Read more
You Be the Coder:
Bring In New PVB Codes in 2016
Question: Our physician performed a thoracic paravertebral block in a patient with ... Read more
CPT® 2016 Update:
Anticipate Changes in Neurostimulator, Paravertebral Block, And Epidural Codes
You needn't time neurostimulator analysis anymore. Additions, revisions, and deletions in... Read more
ICD-10-CM:
Stressed About New Diagnosis Coding? Follow This Expert Advise
Gear up for more specificity; do not ignore trainings. You have now adopted and implem... Read more
Claims Appeals:
CMS Revises Scope Of Review For Redeterminations And Reconsiderations
Limitations on the new guidance apply to post-payment review or audit only. The Centers f... Read more
Reader Question:
You Can Submit Concussion without Consciousness Loss
Question: Is it mandatory that loss of consciousness be documented for submitting d... Read more
You Be the Coder:
Imaging Guidance is Inclusive in IDET Codes
Question: What is intradiscal electrothermal annuloplasty (IDET)? Our physician did... Read more
2016 Update:
Prepare To Embrace These Epidural Code Revisions in 2016
CPT® 2016 will revise fluoroscopic guidance instructions and also introduce new code... Read more
ICD-10:
Embrace And Adopt Implementation This October
Pay attention to code families; look for combination codes and seventh digits. Here is wh... Read more
Practice Management:
Facing Challenges For Electronic Health Records? Adopt These Useful Tips
Update, track issues, and do not neglect patient interactions. Electronic health records ... Read more
Reader Question:
Count Levels for PEEK Cage Coding
Question: Our surgeon performed corpectomies at C4 and C5, fusion(s) from C3-C6 wit... Read more
Reader Question:
Region Guides Coding for Radiculopathy in ICD-10
Question: What ICD-10 codes can we submit to report the diagnosis of lumbar radicul... Read more
You Be the Coder:
Keep Count of Levels for Facet Joint Injections
Question: Our physician performed several facet joint injections. When reporting, w... Read more
Procedure Focus:
Put These Pump Refill Pointers Into Practice for Picture Perfect Claims
Check for reprogramming and say no to 95990, 95991 with 62367-62370. Services for dru... Read more
ICD-10 News:
What Is Next? Make A Smooth Transition To ICD-10
Educate yourself, test your systems, and prepare to embrace ICD-10. It is now time that y... Read more
ICD-10-CM Checklist
Ask yourself these top seven (7) questions before October 1. Get into action if any task... Read more
Refresher:
Avoid Confusion For Services Included In Global Surgical Package
Clearly define what preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative services your physicia... Read more
Reader Question:
Confirm Structure Affected In Neck Sprain
Question: Which are the best ICD-10 codes do you report for sprain in cervical regi... Read more
Reader Question:
One Code Isn't Enough for Lumbar, Sacral Spine Subluxation
Question: What diagnosis codes can we submit for a patient who presents with a subl... Read more
Reader Question:
Do Not Miss the ED Codes
Question: An emergency department physician asked our surgeon to see a Medicare patie... Read more
You Be the Coder:
Append Modifier 52 if Brain Tumor Was Not Removed
Question: How do we report a left temporoparietal craniotomy with an open brain tum... Read more
Coding strategy:
Top 2 Tips To Refine Your Coding For Neuroendoscopic Procedures
Do not miss the primary procedure with 62160. Your surgeon will use neuoroendoscopy in ma... Read more
Learn the Basics of Hydrocephalus
Hydrocephalus is a condition caused by disturbance of formation, flow, or absorption of ce... Read more
Coding Quiz:
Top 5 Additional Procedures That Can Enhance Your Reimbursement For Cranial Procedures
Always list additional procedures with primary procedure codes to avoid denials. Here are... Read more
Practice management:
Follow This Advice To Earn For Non-Physician Practitioner Services
You will cut down risks of losing 15 percent reimbursement if you know details. Non-physi... Read more
Reader Questions:
Check for Any Skull Base Approach
Question: How do we report when our surgeon does a stereotactic pterional osteoplas... Read more
Reader Questions:
Choose Specific Codes for Radiculopathy in ICD-10
Question: What ICD-10 codes can we submit to report the diagnosis of lumbar radicul... Read more
You Be the Coder:
Check Approach for Pneumocephalus Evacuation
Question: A patient who underwent an evacuation of a subdural hematoma in the past ... Read more
Coding Quiz:
Take This Quiz To Assess Your Understanding Of Add-On Codes In Cranial Procedures
You lose payment if you ignore any additional procedures or techniques with craniotomy. C... Read more
ICD-10 Coding:
Boost Your Coding For Benign Neoplasms of Central Nervous System
Beware: Not all ICD-9 codes have a one-to-one match. Reporting benign neoplasms of the ce... Read more
Critical care coding:
Watch For Bundles In Critical Care Coding To Avoid Denials
Document the reason for critical care and the services your physician offered. Critical c... Read more
Reader Questions:
Report Shunt Conversion as New Shunt
Question: How do we report when our surgeon converts a subdural peritoneal shunt to... Read more
Reader Questions:
Count Spinal Defects for +22851
Question: Our surgeon places one spinal cage at T3-T4 and two cages at level T5-T6.... Read more
Reader Questions:
Symptoms Guide Your Head Injury Reporting
Question: Is it correct to only report a concussion diagnosis code if the patient l... Read more
You Be the Coder:
Check Why Your Surgeon Removes Pulse Generator
Question: Our surgeon placed a vagal nerve stimulator for a patient who later devel... Read more
CCI 21.2:
Mark These Mandates For Epidural Injections
Check for bundle in fluoro guidance with epidurals. The new set of bundling edits in CCI ... Read more
Coding Quiz:
Top 5 Questions Help To Refine Your Understanding Of Neuroendoscopic Procedures
Escape losing to bundles; learn where modifiers apply. When your neurosurgeon provides ne... Read more
Assess Your Understanding For Neuroendoscopic Procedures
Remember: You cannot bill codes for open surgery with those for neuroendoscopy.  ... Read more
ICD-10 Coding:
Look For One-To-One Match For Cerebral Cysts In ICD-10
Same code applies to porencepahly, both acquired and developmental. When your surgeon ... Read more
Reader Questions:
You Can Report Multiple E/Ms for Different Specialties
Question: Our practice has multiple specialties, including neurosurgery, neurology, path... Read more
Reader Questions:
95813 Doesn't Represent Video Recording and Interpretation
Question: How can we code an EEG video monitoring of less than six hours? CPT® ... Read more
Reader Questions:
Check Location for Pneumocepahlus Evacuation
Question: Our surgeon performed a right frontal burr hole with evacuation of pneumo... Read more
You Be the Coder:
Submit Multiple Diagnosis Codes For Lumbar and Sacral Spine Subluxation
Question: A patient presents with a subluxation of the lumbar and sacral spine with dege... Read more
CCI Edits:
Understand What CCI Have To Offer For Your Practice
Prepare to include kyphoplasty/vertebroplasty guidelines. It is time to check your pra... Read more
Coding Tips:
Simplify Your Skull Base Approach Coding With These Examples
Remember 3 key steps: Fossa, dura, and approach. Coding for intracranial access may be... Read more
Systematic Approach For Skull Base Procedures
Adopt a systematic approach to define each step that your surgeon does. Below is a listing... Read more
ICD-10 Coding:
Prepare And Train To Implement ICD-10-CM This Year Without Fail
You need to adopt practices beyond new codes to keep errors at bay.  It is now time ... Read more
Do Not Anticipate Any Further Delays For ICD-10-CM
Obama signs the Medicare access and CHIP reauthorization act. If you haven’t yet... Read more
Reader Questions:
Earn for Each Level of Facet Joint Injections
Question: Our physician administers paravertebral facet joint injections at the levels: ... Read more
Reader Questions:
Submit Epidural Injection Codes for SNRB
Question:  How can we report selective nerve root block? Does CPT® offer any de... Read more
Reader Questions:
Bill E/M Codes for Daily Drain Management
Question: Our physician inserted a lumbar drain and wants to leave it in place for ... Read more
You Be the Coder:
Watch For Bundle In Imaging With IDET
Question: What is intradiscal electrothermal anuloplasty (IDET), and how can we report t... Read more
Coding Tips:
Avoid Lamenting Over Laceration Coding With These Top 4 Tips
Do not ignore the services for debridement in contaminated wounds. Your neurosurgeon m... Read more
Quiz:
Assess Your Understanding For Spinal Dural Repair With These Top 5 Questions
Check CCI bundles with concurrent laminectomies. You know you need to choose from thre... Read more
ICD-10 Coding:
Look For One-To-One Match For Kyphosis Codes In ICD-10
Tip: Be specific about the cause and type of kyphosis.  Kyphosis is a condition of e... Read more
Quiz Answers:
Check Answers To Top 5 Questions For Dural Repair Procedures
Confirm laminectomy to get to the right code. When repairing a dural tear, your surgeon ... Read more
Reader Questions:
Bank on Modifier 52 for Short Video EEG
Question: How would we code an EEG video monitoring of less than six hours? Can we su... Read more
Reader Questions:
Earn for Placement and Removal of Trial Electrodes
Question: In a patient with bilateral leg pain, our surgeon placed two electrode ar... Read more
Reader Questions:
Be Prepared to Face Denial for 99051 as Stand-Alone Code
Question: Should we always submit code 99051 in addition to the E/M code for that s... Read more
Reader Questions:
Report Diagnostic As Well As Therapeutic Spinal Punctures
Question: Our surgeon did two spinal punctures in a single day. One was for diagnos... Read more
You Be the Coder:
Distinguish Removal of Pump vs Catheter
Question: When coding the removal of an intrathecal baclofen pump, can we submit CP... Read more
Here Is How You Can Earn For Each Step in Encephalocele Repair
Location guides you to correct code in encephalocele repair. When you report repair of an... Read more
Reimbursement:
Learn How 3 Top Reforms in the Final Fee Schedule Affect Your Pay
Look for a one percent raise for Medicare payments. When the CMS published the 2015 Ph... Read more
Refresher:
Check What Services Are Included In Global Surgical Package
Count on preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative services and care. Below are ... Read more
ICD-10 Update:
Verify Behavioral Problems When Reporting Vascular Dementia
You needn't describe the associated behavioral problems as you did in ICD-9. ICD-10 simpl... Read more
Reader Question:
Find Best Code for Lumbar Hematoma
Question: How can we report the diagnosis of lumbar epidural hematoma? The physicia... Read more
Reader Question:
Confirm Use of Needle for Urethral/Anal EMG
Question: What is the best way to report transcranial motor evoked potentials for e... Read more
You Be the Coder:
Report E/M Codes For Follow-up Care of Lumbar Drain
Question: Our physician inserted a lumbar drain and wants to leave it in place for ... Read more
Coding Tips:
Combat These 3 Myths To Strengthen Your Concussion Claims
Report symptoms documented and do not ignore late effects. When you're coding your surgeo... Read more
2015 Update:
Prepare To Accommodate RVU Changes This Year
Do not bill imaging guidance with epidural injections; earnings revise for CCM. New fee s... Read more
Diagnosis Coding:
Find Answers To Top 3 ICD-10 Questions
Be prepared not to find a direct match and check LCDs. It is now time to plan transiti... Read more
Reader Question:
Limit to One Unit of 0283T
Question: Our physician did a bilateral insertion of 4-lead subcutaneous field stim... Read more
Reader Question:
You're Not Wrong to Submit 'Unlisted' Code for Spinal Hardware Injection
Question: What is spinal hardware injection? Is there a specific code for this serv... Read more
Reader Question:
Check Payer Specifications for Bilateral Procedures
Question: We are reporting bilateral procedures for injection codes 64483 (Injection[... Read more
Reader Question:
Turn to 796.2 for White Coat Hypertension
Question: Is “white coat hypertension” a covered diagnosis? If so, what... Read more
You Be the Coder:
Earn for Your Physician's Professional Service
Question: Can we bill for an EEG when our physician reads one in addition to a hosp... Read more
2015 News:
Check The Changes And Challenges In Transmittal R1422
CMS continues to accept modifier 59 but you should look for any available descriptive mo... Read more
E/M Coding:
Scale Up Your Confidence For Critical Care Coding With These Tips
Count the critical care time and check if other services are bundled. Your neurosurgeon m... Read more
ICD 10 Update:
Check If You Are All Set To Implement ICD-10
Gear up for the fast approaching change with these 4 steps. The New Year will bring th... Read more
Reader Question:
Turn To 64405 for GON Block
Question: Our physician did a left greater occipital nerve (GON) block. How can we ... Read more
Reader Question:
Always Target the Most Definitive Diagnosis Code
Question: Though there are many crosswalks between ICD-9 to ICD-10, there are yet man... Read more
You Be the Coder:
Confirm Global Period Before You Resubmit 63042
Question: In a patient who underwent a lumbar herniated disc excision 2 months ago,... Read more
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