Oncology & Hematology Coding Alert

Watch out: Nurse practitioners are not eligible

Before you spend time reporting the 2006 oncology demonstration project codes, be sure you meet the following diagnosis and physician specialty requirements:

 1. Diagnosis: Patients are only eligible for the project if they have a primary diagnosis of cancer belonging to one of these 13 major diagnostic categories (remember to code to the highest degree of specificity):

 2. Physician specialty: Check the following list for the physician specialties that qualify under the 2006 oncology demonstration project:

You can find more details on the project at www.cms.hhs.gov/transmittals/downloads/r36demo.pdf and www.cms.hhs.gov/MedlearnMattersArticles/downloads/MM4219.pdf.