Practice Management Alert

Making assumptions about automatically applying 22 will land you in OIG hot water.If you overuse modifier 22 (Increased procedural services) you'll wind up facing scrutiny -- or worse -- from your payers or even the Office of Inspector General (OIG). But if you avoid the modifier entirely, you're likely missing out on reimbursement your physician deserves.How it works: When a procedure requires significant additional time or effort that falls outside the range of services described by a particular CPT code -- and no other CPT code better describes the work involved in the procedure " you should look to modifier 22. Modifier 22 represents those extenuating circumstances that don't merit the use of an additional or alternative CPT code but instead raise the reimbursement for a given procedure.Take a look at these three myths -- and the realities -- to ensure you don't fall victim to the modifier 22 catch-22.Myth #1: Morbid Obesity Means Automatic [...]