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Primary Care Coding Alert

News You Can Use:
Learn These 3 Lessons From the 2019 Final Rule
You'll find documentation relief, but not E/M revision, in the New Year. There were a few... Read more
CPT® Updates:
Use These 2019 CPT® Codes for Primary Care Psych Tests
Current codes make way for extensive updates. Last month, we looked at changes in the 201... Read more
Case Study Corner:
Follow This Guide for Simple Burn Coding
And don't forget this acronym to assign Dx A male patient spills hot water from a pan on ... Read more
Reader Question:
Use These Guidelines for Sample Drug Administration Claims
Question: My provider billed an office call and then gave a patient an injection of the ne... Read more
Reader Question:
Fold Reading into E/M Level in This X-ray Encounter
Question: We used to do X-rays in our practice, but we now send out for them. If the facil... Read more
You Be the Coder:
Apply This Advice to Avoid Seventh Character Confusion
Question: I am confused about the use of seventh characters when our provider removes sutu... Read more
News You Can Use:
Catch up on CPT®'s CCM Changes
And look out for new ways to report data collection. Coding for patients with chronic con... Read more
CPT® Revisions:
Know Technique, not Depth, to Master New CPT® Biopsy Codes
Trio of new codes, add-ons will give procedure reporting new specificity beginning Jan. 1.... Read more
ICD-10 Coding:
Grasp Gout Dx Codes With This Guide
All you have to do is take these 4 pain-free steps. An overweight patient with hypertensi... Read more
Reader Question:
Manage Medication for a Higher E/M Level
Question: Our office has a policy that patients should come in every three months when the... Read more
Reader Question:
Improve Your Coding Health with This New Flu Vaccine
Question: It seems like every year the AMA adds yet another CPT® code for a flu vaccine. ... Read more
You Be the Coder:
Can You Code This Sick Visit Chart?
Question: How would you code the following? Chief complaint: Patient is here for a sick v... Read more
Preventive Medicine:
Prevent Fall Risk Counseling Coding Errors with This FAQ
IPPE, AWV, and E/M key opportunities for education. The need for fall risk prevention cou... Read more
Mythbusters:
Bust These Myths for Accurate 99211 Reporting
Hint: Descriptors and documentation are your best guides. Of all the evaluation and manag... Read more
Case Study Corner:
Can You Code This Adolescent Acne Case Study?
Know these three simple concepts to code like an expert. An adolescent patient reports to... Read more
Reader Question:
Take This Counsel When Providing MNT
Question: Our PCP recently gave nutrition counseling to a Medicare patient. We used F50.02... Read more
Reader Question:
Choose Code from Provider Note, not EMR Default
Question: Our providers sometimes enter ICD-10 codes into a patient's electronic medical r... Read more
Reader Question:
Specify Jaw Dx in This Accident Scenario
Question: Our FP treated a patient who had been in a minor motorcycle accident (the patien... Read more
You Be the Coder:
Code Associated Condition in This Fibromyalgia Encounter
Question: Our provider diagnosed a patient with chronic migraines and headaches r/t (relat... Read more
News You Can Use:
Report Vision Screens, Preventive Medicine Separately, Says CCI
Know which edit pairs CMS has deleted effective July 1. The Centers for Medicare and Medi... Read more
Coding Quiz:
Answer These Questions, Advance Your ACP Coding Knowledge
Do you know the key elements to report this service? Few of us want to contemplate the en... Read more
Procedure Coding:
Take These Steps, Code Cerumen Removal With Ease
Hint: Procedures, providers, and Dx are key. Cerumen, or earwax as it is more commonly kn... Read more
Coding Quiz Answers:
Check Your Answers to Our ACP Coding Quiz
Once you've answered the quiz questions on page 67, compare your answers with the ones our... Read more
Reader Question:
Use Units or Modifier to Bill for Assessments
Question: Our provider received results of a Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST-10) and an Al... Read more
Reader Question:
Establish the Rule for This Taxing Situation
Question: I work for a hospital that owns multiple family practice clinics. If a patient g... Read more
You Be the Coder:
Know When to Use This Nosebleed Code
Question: We recently saw a patient who came to the practice with a nosebleed. One of our ... Read more
News You Can Use:
Know These New Codes to Document Exploitation, Abuse
Cyberbullying makes its first appearance in ICD-10. With just 320 additions, 172 revised ... Read more
ICD-10 Update:
Update Your Understanding of the New Screening Codes
Mental health and developmental disorders focus of latest ICD-10 revisions. The passage o... Read more
E/M Coding:
Code by the Numbers for MDM
But make sure everything adds up to consistency and medical necessity. Of the three eleme... Read more
Reader Question:
Choose Modifiers Based on Procedure, not Medication Type
Question: We billed a private payer 99213-25; 20610; J7328-RT; J7328-LT for Gelsyn-3 injec... Read more
Reader Question:
Look to Code First Note in This Type 2 UTI Encounter
Question: What is the correct way to code for type 2 diabetes and a urinary tract infectio... Read more
You Be the Coder:
Draw on These Codes for Successful Venipuncture Reporting
Question: I know that age is one of the factors that differentiates between the venipunctu... Read more
Compliance:
Take this Advice, Avoid the Audit Blues
Voluntary disclosure rules best followed by proactive practices, say experts. Your office... Read more
Clip & Save:
Use This Chart to Reference Common Respiratory Dx Codes
And use these hints to identify conditions quickly and easily. Sometimes, finding the rig... Read more
Case Study Corner:
Test Skin Lesion Removal Knowledge with These 3 Scenarios
Hint: Be mindful of malignancy, method, and modifiers to make meticulous code choices. Co... Read more
Reader Question:
Dial in this New Modifier for Telehealth Services
Question: When telehealth services are provided from our practice office, should our pract... Read more
Reader Question:
Get the Right Answer to this Extremity Pain Scenario
Question: Our physician saw a new patient with a complaint of right-sided extremity pain e... Read more
You Be the Coder:
Start with These Codes for Smoking Cessation
Question: We have a patient who wishes to quit smoking, even though he currently has no ad... Read more
Documentation:
Follow These 4 Hints, Produce Clean, Compliant Documentation
NCQA standards, experts shed light on common problem areas. How important is accurate doc... Read more
E/M Coding:
Take Care to Code These Complex Subsequent Care Scenarios
And check your responses with those of our experts. The scenario is pretty familiar: an e... Read more
Procedure Coding:
Know These Guidelines, Enhance Your Pap Smear Coding Knowledge
Risk level key to code choice, test frequency. When both the US Preventive Services Task ... Read more
Reader Question:
Look to the Clock to Calculate Counseling Units
Question: We recently saw a patient for a nutrition therapy counseling session. The sessio... Read more
You Be the Coder:
Reach for These Codes in This Emergency Laceration Scenario
Question: A patient came to the office on an emergent basis with several lacerations to th... Read more
News You Can Use:
Get Ready for Care Management, Prolonged Services Bundle Changes
Know how these April CCI edits could affect your practice. The Centers for Medicare and M... Read more
ICD-10 Coding:
Look to BMI to Understand Weight Dx Coding
Just be sure your provider makes the call. It was discovered by a Belgian statistician al... Read more
E/M Coding:
Anticipate These Answers to Report Preventive Medicine Visits Accurately
This FAQ on how to report 99381-99397 is exactly what the doctor ordered. Recently, the C... Read more
Reader Question:
Report Units, Supply for Depo Injection
Question: What is the best way to go about reporting and billing Depo Provera administrati... Read more
Reader Question:
Factor Age into Principal Dx for This Immunization Encounter
Question: What is the appropriate way to bill for an outpatient visit when the patient com... Read more
You Be the Coder:
Know the Difference Between These Finger-Stick Tests
Question: Our provider regularly performs finger-stick glucose tests on diabetic and predi... Read more
Procedure Coding:
Get Physical with These School, Sports, and Occupational Exam Codes
Hint: prove your coding fitness by looking to 99381-99397. Whether they are for school, s... Read more
Billing:
Know These Guidelines, Ease Reciprocal Billing Headaches
Substitute services aren't so hard to arrange if you follow these dos and don'ts. Summer ... Read more
ICD-10 Coding:
Code for Pressure Ulcers in 4 Easy Steps
Take this tour through the L89 codes to find bed sore coding relief. Pressure ulcers - or... Read more
Reader Question:
Record Remission, History in This Sobriety Scenario
Question: Our provider documented in the record that she met with a patient who had a hist... Read more
Reader Question:
New Code, Not Gender, Cause for Denial of Mammogram Service
Question: Our provider ordered a diagnostic, bilateral mammogram with tomosynthesis for a ... Read more
Reader Question:
Try Your Hand at Solving This Myostitis Mystery
Question: Our provider documented that a patient was suffering from pain, swelling, tender... Read more
You Be the Coder:
Bring Closure to This Multiple Procedure Encounter
Question: An established patient came to our provider with a deep 10 cm cut on his right a... Read more
ICD-10 Coding:
Dive Into Diabetes Documentation for Best Dx Possible
Go from general to specific with these 5 simple suggestions. With almost 250 different di... Read more
Mythbusters:
Get Time on Your Side with Prolonged E/M Codes
Extend your prolonged service coding knowledge by busting these 4 myths. Sometimes, patie... Read more
Case Study Corner:
Turn to ICD-10 Index, Connect These Soft Tissue Scenarios
Categories key to pain-free coding. Even the most experienced coders can get stumped when... Read more
Reader Question:
Code for Counseling When Patient not Present
Question: We have a mom that came in for a consult about her 5-year-old son, but he was no... Read more
Reader Question:
Use Separate Codes for Separate Encounters in this COPD Scenario
Question: A couple of months ago, our provider saw a patient and provided a diagnosis of a... Read more
Reader Question:
Factor Patient's Age in This Flu Shot Scenario
Question: A 57-year-old patient came in for a flu shot, but when we billed 90662 we got de... Read more
You Be the Coder:
Time to Brush Up on E/M Guidelines
Question: As a new coder, I am still a little confused by the times listed in the descript... Read more
E/M Coding:
Got ROS Questions? We've Got Answers
This FAQ sheds light on common system review problems. The review of systems (ROS) is a k... Read more
Procedure Coding:
Look Beneath the Surface to Code Removals, Excisions, and Biopsies
Four concepts help simplify reporting these skin procedures. Knowing how to code for an e... Read more
Clip & Save:
Use These Codes for Common GI Conditions
And let these pointers, expert tips guide you to fast, accurate documentation. We all hav... Read more
Reader Question:
Report Supervision, Not Interpretation, in This Stress Test Scenario
Question: Our physician has been sending patients to a local hospital for stress echo test... Read more
You Be the Coder:
Code Stimulant Drug Use Differently in Therapeutic Situations
Question: I have two questions about documenting periodic therapeutic drug screens, which ... Read more
News You Can Use:
Know What Changes Are Heading Your Way in the 2018 PFS
Find out whether code changes, revenue adjustments will impact your practice. On Nov. 15,... Read more
Coding Quiz:
Identify Status, Stages, Ace This AIDs Quiz
Let these answers guide you to flawless HIV coding. There's good news and bad news regard... Read more
ICD-10-CM Coding:
Overwhelmed by UTI Code Choices? Here's How to Narrow Them Down
There's more to coding these infections than you might think. Look up Infection/urinary (... Read more
Coding Quiz Answers:
Check Your Answers to Our HIV Coding Quiz
See how your answers stack up with our experts'. Answer 1: The answer to this question de... Read more
Reader Question:
Pick Group Education Codes by Patient, Provider
Question: To meet the needs of a number of our patients with diabetes, our provider decide... Read more
You Be the Coder:
Run, Don't Walk, to Code This I&D Scenario
Question: One of our diabetic patients recently competed in a marathon. Several days later... Read more
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