Category: Medical Coding

ICD Coding and Climate-Related Psychiatry

ICD Coding and Climate-Related Psychiatry

Anyone who has viewed the wildfires in Australia knows why it has been called the “canary in the coal mine” of climate change. No wonder that Solastalgia was discovered there. As the ever-increasing carbon is being emitted from the world’s coal mines and other fossil fuel sources, life as we know it is at increased […]

10 Tips To Prepare Practices For E/M Office Visit Codes Changes

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has taken steps to overhaul codes used for Evaluation and Management (EM) office visit codes. The initiative aims to reduce documentation burdens that interfere with patient care, the American Medical Association says. The professional organization for the nation’s physicians is providing a series of educational materials to support […]
Non-Physician Provider Use of E&M Codes

Non-Physician Provider Use of E&M Codes

Q: There seems to be a trend of practices using a variety of staff as ‘educators’ to provide patient education. The more recent ‘twist’ is the billing of E&M codes for non-physician providers, based in either clinical documentation or time-based, under the ‘incident to” provision – even though the physician does not see the patient for these […]
Medical Coding With AI

The Future Of Work Now – Medical Coding With AI

The coding of medical diagnosis and treatment has always been a challenging issue. Translating a patient’s complex symptoms, and a clinician’s efforts to address them, into a clear and unambiguous classification code was difficult even in simpler times. Now, however, hospitals and health insurance companies want very detailed information on what was wrong with a […]
4 Steps for Improved Excision Coding

4 Steps for Improved Excision Coding

Consideration of several factors, such as the type of removal, lesion size and location, pathologic results, intent, etc., is key to accurately coding dermatological lesion removal procedures. Let’s review the codes and guidelines for lesion removal by excision and how to avoid common mistakes when coding these skin procedures. Excision – Benign/Malignant Lesions (11400-11646) Excision […]
Tips for Handling Combination Visits

Tips for Handling Combination Visits

Q: Some of our Medicare patient’s complain about their $20 or so co-pay when we bill ‘Combination visits’, a G0439 Annual Wellness visit  codes(AWV) and another Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code for managing their problems during the same visit. Is there a good solution to this issue or any advice to maybe remedy this? A: This […]
Online Checklist for E M Coding Services Transition

AMA Releases Online Checklist for E/M Coding Services Transition

The American Medical Association issued a checklist for the transition to fundamental changes in evaluation and management (E/M) services, a medical coding process in support of medical billing which practicing healthcare providers must use to be reimbursed by Medicare, Medicaid programs or private insurance. The checklist provides a guide for physician practices, which already are […]