I am beyond frustrated and completely at a loss on how to handle an external coding company. I honestly think banging my head against the wall would be more productive than talking with these people.
I have stacks and stacks of documented errors, they have been audited by 4 other external companys (both coding and legal consultants), in addition to the ongoing monitoring I do internally. We all say the same thing, they are putting us a risk and are not following any guidelines known to anyone, including themselves.
Here is my most recent issue. Consults are a pet peeve of mine, I follow very closely what is going on with them because they have been so high on the OIG hitlist for so long.
This company returned a coding detail sheet to us with a visit coded as a consult. It had all the patient demographics, the provider of service, date of service, ICD-9 codes, and the requesting provider was listed as "unclear". Ding ding ding, we have a problem. I respond, with out pulling the notes, if there is no requesting provider there is no consult.
They put this same info on the next report with 2 different providers listed as the requesting. I pull the note. “Due to the patient's hemodynamic compromise,intraaortic balloon pump was placed and the patient was referred to Dr. F for surgical intervention”. I respond to them again, this is not a consult.
Again this info is put on another report. I call them, go over the same info again.
Apparently the 3rd time was not a charm, they put the same info on a 4th report that I got yesterday. I am livid to say the least. I respond, quite calmly, this is still not a consult and attach all the guidelines showing what a consult is and what documentation is needed. The coding manager of this company, who is also a vice president of their organization, responds to me wanting to know why I think the consult code is incorrect. She is the one I have been going back and forth with thru this whole process. I respond with a question since my answers were apparently not good enough. "Why do you think this service is a consult? ", her response " I guess the real question is why do you think that it is not a consult?".
I have no idea how to respond to this. I know what I want to say, I think it is very obvious she has no clue what she is doing. We are trying to get this company out of the picture but they have the doctors totally snowed. I am at my wits end.
I appreciate any advice, or if someone thinks this service could be a consult please tell me how so I can see the other side. The patient was having a heart cath, 90% blockage is found, the cardiologist doing the cath called in our CVT group to the cath lab to take the patient for surgery. The PA provided the service they are calling a consult and the reason dictated is what I posted above. Surgery was done the same day.
Thanks
Laura, CPC, CEMC
I have stacks and stacks of documented errors, they have been audited by 4 other external companys (both coding and legal consultants), in addition to the ongoing monitoring I do internally. We all say the same thing, they are putting us a risk and are not following any guidelines known to anyone, including themselves.
Here is my most recent issue. Consults are a pet peeve of mine, I follow very closely what is going on with them because they have been so high on the OIG hitlist for so long.
This company returned a coding detail sheet to us with a visit coded as a consult. It had all the patient demographics, the provider of service, date of service, ICD-9 codes, and the requesting provider was listed as "unclear". Ding ding ding, we have a problem. I respond, with out pulling the notes, if there is no requesting provider there is no consult.
They put this same info on the next report with 2 different providers listed as the requesting. I pull the note. “Due to the patient's hemodynamic compromise,intraaortic balloon pump was placed and the patient was referred to Dr. F for surgical intervention”. I respond to them again, this is not a consult.
Again this info is put on another report. I call them, go over the same info again.
Apparently the 3rd time was not a charm, they put the same info on a 4th report that I got yesterday. I am livid to say the least. I respond, quite calmly, this is still not a consult and attach all the guidelines showing what a consult is and what documentation is needed. The coding manager of this company, who is also a vice president of their organization, responds to me wanting to know why I think the consult code is incorrect. She is the one I have been going back and forth with thru this whole process. I respond with a question since my answers were apparently not good enough. "Why do you think this service is a consult? ", her response " I guess the real question is why do you think that it is not a consult?".
I have no idea how to respond to this. I know what I want to say, I think it is very obvious she has no clue what she is doing. We are trying to get this company out of the picture but they have the doctors totally snowed. I am at my wits end.
I appreciate any advice, or if someone thinks this service could be a consult please tell me how so I can see the other side. The patient was having a heart cath, 90% blockage is found, the cardiologist doing the cath called in our CVT group to the cath lab to take the patient for surgery. The PA provided the service they are calling a consult and the reason dictated is what I posted above. Surgery was done the same day.
Thanks
Laura, CPC, CEMC