Oncology & Hematology Coding Alert

E/M and bone marrow services could ring in the New Year with a makeover.

Would you like an inside look at what the CPT® Editorial Panel is planning for 2013? Be sure you bookmark this site: www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physician-resources/solutions-managing-your-practice/coding-billing-insurance/cpt/cpt-summary-panel-actions.page.

The files on the site record the panel's actions on code change proposals. Updates won't be finalized until the fall, but the files offer some insights into what you can expect.

Some of the CPT® changes you could see include:

• Revision of 38240-38242 (Bone marrow or blood-derived peripheral stem cell transplantation ...), addition of a new code to report hematopoietic cell transplant, and guidelines on when you may report a same-day E/M
• Revision of 99234-99236 (Observation or inpatient hospital care, for the evaluation and management of a patient including admission and discharge on the same date ...) to include typical times
• Revisions to guidelines affecting the vaccine administration code range and multiple E/M subsections, including observation, inpatient, and prolonged services.

Also see "0280T Goes With 0279T for CellSearch" on page 54 for information on another service that could see a coding update in 2013.

ICD-9-cm : Potential changes for the annual ICD-9-CM update usually appear at this time of year in the Inpatient Prospective Payment System proposed rule. This year, no ICD-9-CM updates are planned because of a freeze in place until ICD-10-CM replaces ICD-9-CM.