Benign neoplasm of bone and articular cartilage (213)

Know the ins and outs of coding the conditions and treatments. As a gastroenterology coder, you’re bound to receive medical records that require the coding of intestinal fistula diagnoses and repairs. In this article, Revenue Cycle Insider dissects the appropriate [...]

Don’t forget to assign counseling codes. Radiologists perform low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) scans to evaluate eligible patients for possible lung cancer. While the LDCT screening is reported with 71271 (Computed tomography, thorax, low dose for lung cancer screening, without contrast [...]

Question: Several Medicare patients have come in for low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) lung cancer screening scans. I’m new to radiology coding, and I’m not sure what CPT® codes to report. What codes should I assign to report an LDCT scan? New [...]

Understand DED coding nuances to safeguard your practice’s reimbursement. Nearly half of all U.S. adults experience signs and symptoms of dry eye disease (DED), and roughly a third of patients in eye care clinics present with complaints related to dry [...]

Question: There are times when a patient says something to ancillary staff, but there’s no mention of the issue in the ophthalmologist’s documentation. If a patient tells the medical assistant who rooms them that they are experiencing excessive tearing in [...]

Think of this as a survey of important code changes you need to know about. While some specialties have seen myriad code changes, coding primary care encounters means knowing at least a little about a lot of diagnoses. This article [...]

And say hello to a new chapter you’ve already seen. In last month’s Primary Care Coding Alert, we looked at some new external cause codes, along with new instructions for coding headaches and influenza, that will take effect on Oct. [...]

Always report the code with the highest level of specificity, based on documentation. October 1 brings the next round of ICD-10-CM codes to both software and manuals, and if you’re not prepared, your claims could end up in limbo — [...]

An ounce of prevention can make audits less likely. To paraphrase Paul Revere, it looks as if the RACs are coming for physician practices this year. So believes Frank D. Cohen, director of analytics and business intelligence with Doctors Management, LLC, [...]

Get specific with utilization data to see where your practice falls short. These days, it isn’t really a matter of if your practice will be tapped for a payer audit, but rather the question is when. The bigger question is: [...]