Physicians need to keep their billing and coding right to ensure seamless reimbursements from payers. Similarly, they should stay updated with the latest coding changes to keep their revenue cycle intact. In addition, running a successful medical practice is a daunting task as the providers need to stay updated with the industry guidelines. The year […]
What a difference 15 minutes can make when billing E/M services. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a notice March 14 correcting several errors in the 2023 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) final rule. Most notably, CMS is correcting technical errors in the calculations of the time thresholds for reporting evaluation and […]
Current Procedural Terminology or CPT codes are developed by the American Medical Association (AMA) to describe a wide range of healthcare services provided by physicians, hospitals, and other healthcare professionals. These codes are utilized to communicate with: other physicians, hospitals, and insurers for claims processing. There are three categories of CPT Codes: Category I, Category […]
Don’t assume the codes you’ve been using to report drugs and biologicals still apply. The January 2023 update to the HCPCS Level II code file from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) includes 184 new codes for reporting services and supplies. Approximately 36 of the new codes were created to separately identify products […]
Update your facility-specific guidelines accordingly for 2023. Although the new calendar year is not the beginning of the federal fiscal year, there are coding classifications and terminologies that changed on Jan. 1, 2023. Current Procedural Terminology® (CPT) and Healthcare Current Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) have releases that went out on Jan. 1. There are also […]
Medicare Telehealth Services for 2023, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is adding new Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) codes to the list of Medicare telehealth services, specifically the following HCPCS codes. Prolonged Service Codes G0316: Prolonged hospital inpatient or observation care evaluation and management service(s) beyond the total time for the primary […]
It’s a New Year, and welcome, 2023! When I still practiced clinically, I once got a job as an emergency physician at a brand-new hospital. I was really excited, because I recognized the opportunity for our department to develop our own best-practice culture. I was hoping the staff would gel in an environment of cooperation, […]
A thorough understanding of the latest guidelines for coding evaluation and management services is necessary to ensure compliant claims. You’ve likely heard about the 2023 CPT® changes for reporting hospital inpatient and observation evaluation and management (E/M) services. AAPC has been preparing medical coders for these changes since they were announced and started offering education […]
Attendees at AAPC’s AUDITCON, Nov. 3-4, 2022, came loaded with questions about the coding and guideline changes for evaluation and management (E/M) services in CPT® 2023. The conference offered several sessions on the subject, including the ED session, “Changes in 2023: Emergency Department,” presented by AAPC Chief Product Officer. The officer provided a high-level overview […]
Providing care management services, including chronic care management (CCM) and principal care management (PCM), is not easy. The first overarching challenge is that not enough patients actually participate in care management with a primary care physician. In fact, A recent report from the Primary Care Collaborative and the American Academy of Family Physicians’ more Americans […]