Oncology & Hematology Coding Alert

These changes make it more likely that payers will catch your mistakes

You-d need roughly 45 pages to list all the oncology-related National Correct Coding Initiative (NCCI) edits added effective Oct. 1.
 
Good news: The edits are unlikely to change the way you code, because they prevent reporting pairs you-re unlikely to code together.

Example: NCCI bundled 90810 (Individual psychotherapy, interactive, using play equipment, physical devices, language interpreter, or other mechanisms of non-verbal communication, in an office or outpatient facility, approximately 20 to 30 minutes face-to-face with the patient) into 77332 (Treatment devices, design and construction; simple [simple block, simple bolus]).

Bottom line: You won't need to change your coding much, but you will need to take extra care that you-re reporting the proper code. These edits make denials for mixing up digits more likely.