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Psychiatry Coding Alert

CPT® 2017:
Alter Your Psychotherapy Reporting Skills in 2017 Using These 3 Scenarios
Hint: Check CCI when reporting family therapy with individual therapy. As you get read... Read more
CPT® Coding:
Get Set to Refresh Family Therapy Reporting Beginning New Year
Hint: Report family codes only if time component is satisfied. As you make way for CPT... Read more
Collections:
Understand the Do's and Don'ts for Handling Nonpaying Patients
Try ‘hard’ collection as your last option. You might be familiar with situ... Read more
Reader Question:
Reporting 99212 For Every Pharma Management? Think Again
Question: When I looked through the kind of work that our psychiatrist does, he mos... Read more
Reader Question:
Can Family Therapy Constitute Interactive Complexity? Find Out
Question: Our psychiatrist recently had a lengthy session with family members of a ... Read more
You Be the Coder:
Get Specific When Reporting Intermittent Explosive Disorder Dx
Question: Our psychiatrist recently started performing psychotherapy for a 19-year-... Read more
CPT® Coding:
Get Set to Incorporate New POS Code for Telehealth Services in 2017
Hint: Note that new changes are only applicable to distant sites. When your clinician ... Read more
E/M Coding:
Watch These 4 E/M Coding Dos and Don'ts for Reporting Success
Benefit from using auditing tools when in doubt. When you are reporting an E/M service... Read more
CMS Update:
Be Informed of Medicare's Open Enrollment For CY 2017
Participating providers get higher reimbursement for services. As you gear up to step ... Read more
Reader Question:
Check This Easy Guide to Reporting Depression Dx
Question: Our clinician arrived at a diagnosis of major depressive disorder. When I... Read more
You Be the Coder:
Know if Group Psychotherapy is a Time Based Code
Question: I am new to psychiatry coding. Recently, our psychiatrist undertook a gro... Read more
Prolonged Services:
Garner Added Pay For Extended Psychotherapy With Prolonged Service Codes
Watch for situations involving extended evaluations too. If your clinician is performi... Read more
ICD-10 Coding:
4 Tips Will Perfect Your Psychoactive Substance Use Behavioral Disorder Claims
Hint: Watch provider documentation to zero in on the right code. When your psychiatris... Read more
Compliance:
Safeguard PHI by Creating Contracts with Business Associates
Remember, all entities are not subject to HIPAA rules. In your practice, one of the mo... Read more
Reader Question:
Learn if You Can Report E/M With Psychological Testing Codes
Question: Our psychiatrist is performing psychological tests for a patient. These t... Read more
You Be the Coder:
Confused Over Reporting E/M For No Meds Management? Here's What to do
Question: One of our psychiatrists saw a patient for a scheduled psychotherapy sess... Read more
CPT® 2017 Update:
Get A First Look At Coding Changes Affecting Psychiatry in 2017
You may no longer be able to consistently report family counseling. As we slowly reach... Read more
Coding Quiz:
Test Your Psychodiagnostic Evaluation Reporting Skills with This Quiz
Watch for situations when the evaluation is complicated by communication issues. When ... Read more
Employee Evaluations:
Improve Front Office Outlook through Regular Performance Reviews
Reviews should focus on increasing performance, not tensions. It is good practice to p... Read more
Coding Quiz Answers:
Compare Your Answers to Psychodiagnostic Evaluation Coding Quiz
Read our experts’ opinions on deciphering these scenarios. Scenario 1: Psychodia... Read more
Reader Question:
Can You Report E/M With No Changes to Medications? Find Out
Question: If our psychiatrist is performing pharmacological management but is not p... Read more
Reader Question:
Understand If Same Day Group and Individual Psychotherapy is Reportable
Question: One of our newly-appointed psychiatrists wants to perform group psychothe... Read more
You Be the Coder:
Reporting +90785 With E/M? Not So Fast
Question: I am new to psychiatry coding. We were reporting +90785 in addition to ps... Read more
CPT® Coding:
Master the Path to Successful Telehealth Psychiatry Claims
Hint: Know the HCPCS code to report if your practice is the originating site. When you... Read more
ICD-10 Coding:
Clarify What Specific ICD-10 Code You Should Report for Claustrophobia
Hint: Don’t confuse fear of flying for claustrophobia. When your psychiatrist di... Read more
Inpatient Certification:
Be Informed About Tweaks to Certification and Recertification of Inpatient Admissions
Good news: You will now have chances of reversal of denials due to delays. If you need... Read more
Reader Question:
Select Substance Use Codes Based on Extent of Usage
Question: In the previous edition of the Psychiatry Coding Alert (vol.5, no.7&#... Read more
You Be the Coder:
Understand if Level of E/M Influences Psychotherapy Code
Question: I am new to psychiatry coding. Our psychiatrist routinely performs medica... Read more
CPT® Coding:
Benefit From 3 Helpful Tips to Stimulate Your TMS Reporting Success
Hint: Don’t report multiple units of the code for one calendar date of service. ... Read more
Mythbuster:
Be Aware of These 4 New vs. Established E/M Myths to Avoid Losses
Hint: Don’t determine patient status using location as a criterion. When your cl... Read more
Medicare News:
Get the Latest News Regarding OIG's Takedown of Practices Taking Kickbacks
OIG pulls down a major fraud amounting to more than $900 million. If you are not aware... Read more
Reader Question:
Don't Get Hallucinations Over Reporting Substance Related Psychosis
Question: One of our psychiatrists recently reviewed a patient and arrived at a dia... Read more
Reader Question:
Avoid PHI Compromise Using These Simple Measures
Question: In the recent past, we have had to face problems in our practice due to H... Read more
You Be the Coder:
Choosing E/M Code on Basis of Time? Not so Fast
Question: I am new to psychiatry coding. I know that psychiatrists are allowed to r... Read more
Mythbuster:
Don't Allow These 4 ECT Myths to Falter Your Claims
Know when you can report an E/M code in addition to ECT. When reporting electroconvuls... Read more
Medicare News:
Avoid Unnecessary Losses to Your Practice by Making Use of JW Modifier
Catch the new Medicare ruling on JW modifier for discarded drugs. If you were worried ... Read more
ICD-10 Coding:
Tackle Animal Related Phobias with Two Expansions to F40.21-
Your clinician might want to conduct tests to rule out other medical conditions. When ... Read more
Reader Question:
Watch Physician Relationship to Determine New vs. Established Patient
Question: We have a new psychiatrist joining our practice. He has informed us that ... Read more
Reader Question:
Know Your Options When Considering Right Person to Write SOPs
Question: We are a 10-clinician practice that is rapidly expanding; we only had thr... Read more
You Be the Coder:
Learn if Same Day E/M Service With 90791 Can be Reported
Question: Is it possible for a patient to have a psychodiagnostic evaluation (90791... Read more
ICD-10 Update:
Gear up For These 5 Proposed ICD-10 Changes Affecting Psychiatry in 2017
Check documentation as you now have “specific” codes for many more condition... Read more
CCI 22.1 Update:
Be Informed About Latest CCI Edits Bundling Psychiatry Codes with IV Infusions
Good news: You don’t have to worry a lot about these changes. If you have had a ... Read more
Patient Records:
Get a Take on Patient Satisfaction Using Communication and Online Tools
Increase feedback collection methods to survey more patients. You can put in place a n... Read more
Reader Question:
Should Family Therapy Be Always Face-to-face? Take Note
Question: We recently had a very peculiar situation in our practice. We had a patie... Read more
Reader Question:
Smooth Out the Process of Checking Patient Info
Question: In our practice, we have a policy of annually updating important informat... Read more
You Be the Coder:
Focus on Elements and Not Time When Reporting Psychodiagnostic Evaluation
Question: According to CPT® guidelines, for time based codes, a minimum am... Read more
E/M Coding:
Net Hundreds of Dollars to Your Practice by Perfecting E/M ROS Count
Hint: You could report a higher level E/M for a complete ROS. When your clinician perf... Read more
Coding Quiz:
Perfect Your Family Therapy Reporting Knowledge with This Quiz
Hint: Train your sights on CCI when reporting two sessions together. When trying to re... Read more
Patient Records:
Don't Neglect Valid Subpoenas Requesting Patient Info
Remember: Don’t divulge patient info unless you get a judge’s decree. In a... Read more
Coding Quiz Answers:
Compare Your Answers to Family Therapy Coding Quiz
Read our experts’ opinions on deciphering these scenarios. When reporting a sess... Read more
Reader Question:
Consider These Factors to Decide if Patient is New or Established
Question: We had a patient who was referred to us by another doctor for some psycho... Read more
You Be the Coder:
See if Modifiers AJ/ AH are Mandatory For CSW and CP Claims
Question: I used to do psychiatry coding long back when the old codes were in force... Read more
CPT® Coding Strategies:
Obtain Perfection in Computer Administered Psychological Test Reporting
Hint: Watch CCI edits when reporting multiple tests together. When a patient is admini... Read more
E/M Coding:
Recognize the Importance of HPI in Determination of Appropriate E/M Codes
Make sure payer recognizes duration before counting it on HPI. Whenever you are report... Read more
Compliance:
Don't Allow Insurance Verification Delays Cost Your Practice Hundreds of Dollars
Experts: Make sure patient’s insurance info is valid before first visit. In your... Read more
Reader Question:
Not Sure About Giving EOB Explanations to Patients? Here's How
Question: We often get patients who call the practice with questions about their ex... Read more
Reader Question:
Report Dx Codes Based on Which Substance or Drug is Abused
Question: Recently, our psychiatrist reviewed a patient who has been abusing laxati... Read more
You Be the Coder:
Planning to Use +90785 to Compensate for Extra Time? Not so Fast
Question: Our psychologist performed an initial evaluation of the patient. I am rep... Read more
CPT® Coding Strategies:
Identify the Provider to Assign the Right Code For Psychological Tests
Hint: Don’t report additional code for interpretation of technician administered t... Read more
Patient Relations:
Don't Let Patient Relationship Slide by Delaying Record Requests
Avoid legal hassles by heeding to patient demands immediately. You might have encounte... Read more
Collections:
Get A No-Show Policy in Place To Avoid Repeated Losses To Your Practice
Don’t forget to get the patient’s signature on your no-show policy. If you... Read more
Reader Question:
Confused About Factoring Forgetfulness Into E/M? Here's How
Question: A patient comes in with a chief complaint of “increasing forgetfuln... Read more
Reader Question:
Ensure All Claim Forms Carry Valid Signatures or Face Denials
Question: I’m having trouble getting my physicians to sign their claim forms.... Read more
You Be the Coder:
Attaching Time Component to Family Therapy Codes? Wait a Second
Question: I am having trouble understanding the number of units for reporting famil... Read more
CCI 22.0 Update:
Glimpse into CCI 22.0 Edits When Reporting Certain E/M Services
Make the distinction between modifier indicators of ‘1’ and ‘0.’... Read more
Compliance:
Here's What You Need to Consider before Opting out of Medicare
Know the difference between a covered service and a service that is reimbursable. If y... Read more
Compliance:
Perform Self-audits to Protect Your Practice from Payer Audits
Focus on these hotspots to reduce audit risk. Though your practice takes every possibl... Read more
Reader Question:
Know if 96127 Can be Reported Only For Interpretations
Question: If someone like the parent or a teacher of the patient administers an ass... Read more
Reader Question:
Understand if You Can Receive Additional Pay for ECT During IPF Stay
Question: How do I get reimbursed when a patient with psychiatric disorder receives... Read more
You Be the Coder:
Don't Report Every Family Interaction With 90846
Question: Our psychiatrist recently had a patient’s wife come in during a pre... Read more
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