Thirty-day billing period base rate 55.6 percent of 60-day rate. It soon will be time for the rubber to hit the road when it comes to the Patient-Driven Groupings Model. Does your agency have what it takes under the hood [...]
Plus: See how much Medicare’s behavioural adjustments are stripping from base rate. If you thought your home health agency impact file outlining the Patient Driven Groupings Model’s effects is the full story, think again. Reminder: When the Centers for Medicare [...]
Question: My surgeon preformed a laparoscopic radical nephrectomy on a horseshoe kidney but could not finish dividing the isthmus, so he extended a port incision and finished the division open. Is it appropriate to code the open radical nephrectomy in addition [...]
Pay attention to cyst location to help guide your coding. For urology practices, periurethral cyst removal can be a frequently performed procedure, but the countless differences that can change the clinical presentation and the surgery can make choosing the right [...]
Determine the exact clinical circumstances and cyst location before starting your code search. While periurethral cyst removal may be a common surgery in your practice, the variety of presentations and resulting surgical differences can make choosing the right code a [...]
Question: How should I report a robotic/laparoscopic excision of a urachal remnant and repair of the bladder? The diagnosis codes are 753.7 (Congenital anomalies of urachus) and 599.72 (Microscopic hematuria). Utah Subscriber Answer: Since there is no specific CPT® code [...]
Watch documentation for confirmation of stricture or obstruction. When ICD-10 is finally implemented in 2014, you’ll be able to use codes to more accurately represent the cause of hydronephrosis. Here’s how your ICD-9 and ICD-10 options compare. Diagnosis: Hydronephrosis refers [...]
Check the urologist's documentation for mention of infection to start down the right code path.When your urologist documents that a patient has hydronephrosis, you report 591 (Hydronephrosis) -- which may include any or all of the following clinical scenarios: early [...]
Don't miss out on additional procedures and services for which you deserve reimbursement.Laparoscopic procedures are becoming more commonplace in urology practices and pyeloplasty procedures are no exception. Don't let this new surgical technique throw off your coding and cost your [...]
Question: The urologist performed a laparoscopic mobilization of a kidney but then did an open pyeloplasty. How should I report this converted procedure?Answer: For most payers you should report the code for the open procedure alone because your urologist converted [...]
