Urology Coding Alert

With non-payment for consults, you will need to relearn some old coding rules. While most coders know by now that the rumors swirling about consultation coding and payment changes were true, confusion still runs rampant about how you'll deal with the changes. CMS published the 2010 Physician Fee Schedule , which you can find at www.cms.hhs.gov/PhysicianFee Sched/PFSRVF. The fee schedule indicates that there are no relative value units (RVUs) assigned to the consultation codes, "so it looks like 100 percent certain Medicare won't recognize them," says Leah Gross, CPC, coding lead at Metro Urology in St. Paul, Minn. Now your job is to figure out how to report the consultation services your urologist provides so that he'll get paid for his services -- by both Medicare and private payers. Turn to Initial Hospital Care Codes for Medicare Since Medicare will no longer reimburse you for
in-office consultation codes (99241-99245, [...]