General / Hot Coding Topics

Avoid These 5 Major Modifier Errors to Keep Your Cash Flowing

Reporting modifier 78 for a staged procedure? Expect denials.

When it comes to appending CPT® modifiers to your codes, the rules can be daunting, and Medicare’s regulations only compound the confusion. But if you’re up to speed on these key modifier billing practices, you’ll be raking in deserved pay.

Check out the following five tips to ensure that you aren’t missing any opportunities.

1. Don’t Avoid Modifier 26.

If your physician provides an interpretation and report for an x-ray or other radiological service in the treatment of a patient, that’s not always just part of his E/M—in some cases, you can separately bill for the interpretation and report by appending modifier 26 (Professional component) to the CPT® code.

Typically, the technologist that performed the patient’s x-ray will bill the code — such as 71010 (Radiologic examination, chest; single view, frontal) — with modifier TC (Technical component) to indicate that he is billing for the equipment, room charge, film and radiologic technician, but not for the physician’s interpretation. If the physician who renders the interpretation is with a separate professional group and is not a hospital employee, you should report the service with modifier 26 to obtain his proper share of the reimbursement.

2. Know the Difference Between Modifiers 58 and 78.

Because both modifier 58 and 78 describe procedures performed during another surgery’s global period, it can be easy to confuse them. But differentiating between the two can mean the difference between collecting your due and filing endless appeals.

Key: You’ll report modifier 78 (Unplanned return to the operating room for a related procedure during the postoperative period) when conditions arising from the initial surgery (complications) rather than the patient’s condition...

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July 20, 2011
Coder's Cranium / General / Hot Coding Topics / Provider News

Follow 4 Simple Tips for Modifier 62 to Get your Game Plan in place for both Codes and Documentation

When two surgeons work together to perform one procedure, each physician’s individual documentation requirements can get jumbled up.  Make sure your physician isn’t passing the documentation buck and that he or she knows to follow these four tips when you submit claims with modifier 62.

Tip 1: Each physician should identify the other as a co-surgeon. Also make sure that the other physician is billing with modifier 62. A lot of confusion can arise when physicians from different practices are reporting the same procedure.

You may find yourself in a situation where one physician may report the other physician’s work as that of an assistant surgeon, in which case the claims would not correspond. This means a denial will hit your desk. One surgeon cannot simply indicate the other as the co-surgeon. Both physicians must submit claims for the same procedure, both with modifier 62. To accomplish this all you only need to call with a simple courtesy to the other physician’s billing or coding department.

Tip 2: Each physician should document her own operative notes. When surgeons are acting as “co-surgeons,” it is implied that they are each performing a distinct part of the procedure, which means they can’t “share” the same documentation. Each physician should provide a note detailing what portion of the procedure he or she performed, how much work was involved, and how long the procedure took. Including a brief explanation of the need for co-surgeons will help to avoid denials and reimbursement delays.

Tip 3: Each physician must link the same diagnosis code to the common procedure code. Though this requirement may seem obvious, if two physicians serve as co-surgeons to perform one procedure, the diagnosis code(s) they link to the CPT® code should be the same.  Before submitting a claim with modifier 62, someone...

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June 8, 2011
Coder's Cranium / General / Hot Coding Topics / Provider News

Follow 4 Simple Tips for Modifier 62 to Get your Game Plan in place for both Codes and Documentation

When two surgeons work together to perform one procedure, each physician’s individual documentation requirements can get jumbled up. Make sure your physician isn’t passing the documentation buck and that he or she knows to follow these four tips when you submit claims with modifier 62.

Tip 1: Each physician should identify the other as a co-surgeon.  Also make sure that the other physician is billing with modifier 62. A lot of confusion can arise when physicians from different practices are reporting the same procedure.

You may find yourself in a situation where one physician may report the other physician’s work as that of an assistant surgeon, in which case the claims would not correspond. This means a denial will hit your desk. One surgeon cannot simply indicate the other as the co-surgeon.  Both physicians must submit claims for the same procedure, both with modifier 62. To accomplish this all you only need to call with a simple courtesy to the other physician’s billing or coding department.

Tip 2: Each physician should document her own operative notes. When surgeons are acting as “co-surgeons,” it is implied that they are each performing a distinct part of the procedure, which means they can’t “share” the same documentation. Each physician should provide a note detailing what portion of the procedure he or she performed, how much work was involved, and how long the procedure took. Including a brief explanation of the need for co-surgeons will help to avoid denials and reimbursement delays.

Tip 3: Each physician must link the same diagnosis code to the common procedure code. Though this requirement may seem obvious, if two physicians serve as co-surgeons to perform one procedure, the diagnosis code(s) they link to the CPT® code should be the same.  Before submitting a claim with modifier 62, someone...

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June 8, 2011
Coding Challenge / Hot Coding Topics

2011 Guidelines For 93922

Question: I’m confused by the 2011 guidelines for 93922-93923. When should I report 93922-52? Answer: You should report 93922-52 (Limited bilateral noninvasive physiologic studies of upper or lower extremity arteries … 1-2 levels; Reduced services)...

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January 19, 2011
Audit / Provider News

Auditors Review Your Notes Based on the Regs as of the Service Date

auditorIf you performed a consult in 2006, the auditor will use 2006 guidelines — not today’s rules.

Most Part B practices have grown accustomed to tucking consult regulations into the backs of their minds, since Medicare no longer pays for...

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May 12, 2010
Coder's Cranium

Set the Record Straight: ICD Code Options for COPD

What your pulmonologist writes in the documentation matters. The pulmonologist’s documentation, along with the patient’s medical record can make or break your chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) reporting. One key is making sure that your coding accurately identifies the patient’s specific pulmonary condition and any other associated acute condition (if necessary). Background: According to the National Heart [...] Related articles:

  1. 3 Pulmonary Diagnosis Coding TipsRemember to focus on acute conditions & exacerbations. Correctly reporting...
  2. How Do You Code COPD With Acute Bronchitis?  Question: An established patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD)...
  3. Should You Code Presenting Symptoms Along With Dx? Question: An established patient complains of trouble breathing and...

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February 25, 2010