Deformity and disproportion of reconstructed breast (612)

Healthcare providers aren’t the only ones suffering accidental disclosures of HIPAA-covered data. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services itself is fessing up to a breach — although it took place at a contractor’s. Medicare contractor Maximus Federal Services Inc. [...]

Are you as brainy about bunions as you think? Once you’ve answered the quiz questions on page 3, compare your answers with the ones provided below. Answer 1: The primary difference between a bunion and a bunionette is location. A [...]

Question: What’s the difference between G0141 and 88141, and when should we use one code over the other? Texas Subscriber Answer: Both codes describe physician interpretation of an abnormal Pap smear: G0141 (Screening cytopathology smears, cervical or vaginal, performed by automated system, [...]

Question: I have an operative report in front of me with a puzzling diagnosis. The encounter notes indicate that the patient suffered from Charcot’s joint in the shoulder. What ICD-10 code best represents this condition? Michigan Subscriber Answer: Also called [...]

Hint: Pregnancy affects your code choices. Coding an appendicitis diagnosis may seem more complicated than the surgeon’s work during the procedure itself. Remember to follow the ICD-10-CM guidelines and keep these expert tips on hand to simplify the appendicitis coding [...]

Question: I have an operative report in front of me with a puzzling diagnosis. The encounter notes indicate that the patient suffered from Charcot’s joint in the shoulder. What ICD-10 code best represents this condition? Indiana Subscriber Answer: Also called [...]

Don’t miss pregnancy impact. When your surgeon treats a patient with appendicitis, you may find coding the case is easy on the procedure side but complicated on the diagnosis side. Look to ICD-10-CM guidelines and the following expert tips for [...]

Code M72.2 not blanket code that covers any condition associated with the plantar fascia. Baseball season is coming up, which means podiatrists will start seeing some of the common injuries that athletes experience. Do you know what ICD-10 codes to [...]

Question: A patient returns to my podiatry practice’s office, complaining of continuing bunion pain. The patient has tried conservative care, including wearing wider shoes. From an X-ray, our podiatrist observes that the patient has a hypertrophied medial aspect with increased [...]

Use the scenario details to arrive at an answer. The odds are high that you will code claims for bunionectomies in your podiatry practice. So, it’s never a bad idea to get back to the basics of coding with a [...]