See how method impacts code choice. When your lab gets a Pap test order, you need to answer three key questions if you want to get the coding right — and garner the pay your lab deserves. Study the following [...]
Pap interpretation takes big hit. Changes are coming down the pike for payment on some high-volume pathology services beginning in January, according to the 2020 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) final rule. Background: The reason for many 2020 MPFS changes [...]
Question: We have an ABN notice for a patient’s low-risk screening colonoscopy because the physician ordered the test five years after a normal test, meaning that it exceeds frequency limitations. What can we do to get paid for this test? Georgia [...]
Question: We have an ABN notice for a patient’s Pap test because the physician ordered the test nine months after a normal test, meaning that it exceeds frequency limitations. What can we do to get paid for this test? Georgia Subscriber [...]
Risk level key to code choice, test frequency. When both the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend Pap tests for all women between 21 and 65 years old to prevent [...]
Question: We received a request for a Pap test six months following a prior Pap for the same patient that resulted in a diagnosis of ASC-H. Our lab performs a liquid-based Pap test, and the pathologist again interprets this abnormal [...]
Question: Our lab processed a screening Pap test and reported ASCUS findings, then reflexed to an HPV test. How should we code this? Georgia Subscriber Answer: You should bill the screening Pap test using a diagnosis code such as Z12.4 (Encounter for [...]
Question: We received a Pap test order 13 months after the previous test due to “high-risk sexual behavior.” However, the ordering physician listed the diagnosis as Z12.4 (Encounter for screening for malignant neoplasm of cervix), which resulted in a denial. Is there [...]
Don’t confuse screening vs. diagnostic tests. After reading the questions on page 9, now is the time to see if you’ve mastered the ins and outs of Pap test coding. Here are the answers, according to our experts: Solution 1: [...]
Don’t confuse screening vs. diagnostic tests. After reading the questions on page 11, now is the time to see if you’ve mastered the ins and outs of Pap test coding. Here are the answers, according to our experts: Solution 1: [...]
