Be In The Know With Chemodenervation and Botulinum Toxin Changes

Effective April 1, your practice’s bottom line is going to be hit, especially if your provider uses chemodenervation to treat patients. Reason: Medicare Physician Fee Schedule is all set to introduce a bunch of changes. So here’s the big news.

Bilateral Indicator Shifts to ‘2’

Neurologists and pain management specialists sometimes use chemodenervation to help relieve symptoms of spasmodic torticollis (333.83), cerebral palsy (such as 343.x), or other conditions. The codes you rely on for these procedures include:

  • 64613 — Chemodenervation of muscle(s); neck muscle(s) (e.g., for spasmodic torticollis, spasmodic dysphonia)
  • 64614 — … extremity(s) and/or trunk muscle(s) (e.g., for dystonia, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis).

Previous versions of the physician fee schedule listed a bilateral status indicator of “1” for 64613 and 64614. That meant you could append modifier 50 (Bilateral procedure) and receive additional payment if your provider injected botulinum toxin into bilateral anatomic sites, such as the right and left upper extremities.

Medicare is changing the bilateral status indicator for 64613 and 64614 to “2,” effective April 1, 2011. You’ll no longer be able to report the service bilaterally, even if your provider chooses that treatment option.

“Medicare now considers that the RVUs (relative value units) are already based on the procedure being performed as a bilateral procedure,” explains Marvel Hammer, RN, CPC, CCS-P, PCS, ASC-PM, CHCO, owner of MJH Consulting in Denver, Co.

Pay cut: Submitting a claim with modifier 50 means the payer will reimburse at 100 percent for the first procedure and at 50 percent for the second contralateral procedure. Based on the national conversion factor of $33.9764, Medicare pays $145.42 for code 64613 in a facility setting and $164.11 in a non-facility setting. Medicare pays $151.87 for code 64614 in a facility setting and $174.98 in a nonfacility setting. Once the...

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A-Scans: Report Denial Proof 76511 Claim With Accurate Bilateral, Modifier Reporting

One of the most common procedures in ophthalmology is A-scan ultrasound biometry, which is associated with some of the most uncommon coding problems.

According to CPT, A-scans — 76511, 76516, and 76519 — are the shortened names for amplitude modulation scans, “one-dimensional ultrasonic measurement procedures,” notes Maggie M. Mac, CPC, CEMC, CHC, CMM, ICCE, Director, Best Practices-Network Operations at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.

Ophthalmologists use 76511 (Ophthalmic ultrasound, diagnostic; quantitative A-scan only) to diagnose eye-related complications such as eye tumors, hemorrhages, retinal detachment, etc.

Physicians use 76516 (Ophthalmic biometry by ultrasound echography, A-scan) to measure the axial length of the eye in preparation for cataract surgery.

And 76519 (Ophthalmic biometry by ultrasound echography, A-scan; with intraocular lens power calculation) allows ophthalmologists to determine the intraocular lens calculation prior to cataract surgery only.

Typically, most A-scans are performed bilaterally. However, circumstances may only require the physician to perform a unilateral scan.

Each A-scan code has separate requirements when billed bilaterally. For example, payers consider 76511 unilateral, requiring the use of modifiers LT/RT/50 (Left side/Right side/Bilateral procedure) or the units value of “2.”

But 76516 is inherently bilateral, so you shouldn’t append modifier 50 to it.

For CPT Code 76519, some payers (including Medicare) consider only the technical component bilateral whereas the professional component is unilateral.

Some non-Medicare payers, on the other hand, want you to bill globally and don’t typically divide the professional and technical components, so you must determine which insurance company you are coding for and what its policy is for billing A-scans.

Medicare carriers for Part B services have published articles specifying their preference to report a bilateral service with a single line item with modifier 50 and one unit of service, whereas [some] non-Medicare payers prefer reporting bilateral services with two line items...

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Choose The Most Appropriate Code with an Optometrist Expert Help

Even small ophthalmology practices are likely to have a Humphrey visual field analyzer, yet many ophthalmologists don’t know the secrets for securing adequate reimbursement for these services — and they even go so far as to put themselves at risk for costly audits due to lack of documentation.

CPT lists three different visual field examinations — and the higher the code, the higher the reimbursement.:

  • 92081 — Visual field examination, unilateral or bilateral, with interpretation and report; limited examination (e.g., tangent screen, Autoplot, arc perimeter or single stimulus level automated test, such as Octopus 3 or 7 equivalent)
  • 92082 — … intermediate examination (e.g., at least 2 isopters on Goldmann perimeter, or semiquantitative, automated suprathreshold screening program, Humphrey suprathreshold automatic diagnostic test, Octopus program 33)
  • 92083 — … extended examination (e.g., Goldmann visual fields with at least 3 isopters plotted and static determination within the central 30 degrees, or quantitative, automated threshold perimetry, Octopus program G-1, 32 or 42, Humphrey visual field analyzer full threshold programs 30-2, 24-2 or 30/60-2).

A common mistake ophthalmologists make is billing 92082 when they could legitimately bill 92083.

The key to choosing the correct VF code is in the code descriptors themselves. For example, if the ophthalmologist plots only two isopters on the Goldmann perimeter, CPT would call that “intermediate,” based on its description of 92082. If you plotted three isopters, however, that would be an “extended” examination that would qualify for 92083.

Rule of thumb: An intermediate test is one of the screening tests that you would use if you suspect neurological damage. But ophthalmologists use the threshold exam (92083) when they suspect something that causes a slow, progressive dimming of peripheral vision, like glaucoma. Glaucoma causes a loss of vision like a light bulb slowly becoming...

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Emergency Reporting: Know When To Use +99140 With These Tips

Reporting any qualifying circumstances (QC) codes for anesthesia can be tricky, but knowing when to classify a situation as a true emergency can be a real challenge unless you’re well-versed in the emergency conditions guidelines. Check coding definitions and your provider’s documentation to know whether you can legitimately add two extra units for +99140 (Anesthesia complicated by emergency conditions [specify] [List separately in addition to code for primary anesthesia procedure]) to your claim.

CPT includes a note with +99140 stating that “an emergency is defined as existing when delay in treatment of the patient would lead to a significant increase in the threat to life or body parts.” Your key to knowing a case meets emergency conditions lies in your anesthesiologist’s notes.

“Quite a number of cases come in where the anesthesiologist marks ‘emergency’ but many times the ‘emergency’ isn’t all that clear,” says Leslie Johnson, CCS-P, CPC, director of coding and education for Medi-Corp., Inc., of New Jersey. Documentation supporting an emergency will depend on each case, so read the chart thoroughly when your provider indicates an emergency.

Solution: Talk with your anesthesia providers to clarify what constitutes an emergency and when you can include +99140. If there’s a real reason to report an emergency (such as a ruptured appendix, 540.0), your physician should clearly document the reason. Another diagnosis code to indicate a problem (such as unstable angina, 411.1) could help show the payer you’re reporting an unusual situation. The second diagnosis can also help in an appeal if a payer that ordinarily recognizes +99140 denies the claim.

“An OB patient who comes in for a cesarean section isn’t automatically an emergency,” explains Scott Groudine, M.D., professor of anesthesiology at Albany Medical Center in New York. “However, a diagnosis of fetal distress and prolapsed cord virtually always...

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Diagnosis Coding: G Codes Are Your Key To Coding Correct High Risk Colonoscopy

Get your hemorrhoid report right and stress-free in a snap. We’ll tell you the difference between internal and external hemorrhoids, but you can learn more from this sample physician’s report:

PREPROCEDURE DIAGNOSIS: History of colon polyps and partial colon resection, right colon.

POSTPROCEDURE DIAGNOSES:

  1. Normal operative site.
  2. Mild diverticulosis of the sigmoid colon.
  3. Internal hemorrhoids.

PROCEDURE: Total colonoscopy.

PROCEDURE IN DETAIL: The 60-year-old patient presents to the office to be evaluated for the preprocedure diagnosis. The patient also apparently had an x-ray done at the hospital and it showed a dark spot, and because of this, a colonoscopy was felt to be needed. She was prepped the night before and on the morning of the test with oral Fleet’s, brought to the second floor and sedated with a total of 50 mg of Demerol and 3.75 mg of Versed IV push. Digital rectal exam was done, unremarkable. At that point, the Pentax video colonoscope was inserted. The rectal vault appeared normal. The sigmoid showed diverticula throughout, mild to moderate in nature. The scope was then passed through the descending and transverse colon over to the hepatic flexure area and then the anastomosis site was visualized. The scope was passed a short distance up the ileum, which appeared normal. The scope was then withdrawn through the transverse, descending, sigmoid, and rectal vault area. The scope was then retroflexed, and anal verge visualized showed some internal hemorrhoids.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Repeat colonoscopy in three years.

Let Location Guide You

You can easily identify external hemorrhoids (455.3-455.5) because of its place of appearance. This type of hemorrhoid has a fleshy growth and occurs around the anus — specifically, outside the anal verge which is at the distal end of the anal canal. On the other hand, internal hemorrhoids (455.0-455.2) occur inside the...

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CCI UPDATE 97597-97598: CCI Will Correct Debridement Glitch

Hang on to your claims for these wound care management codes.

As most veteran coders know, you can’t report an add-on code unless you report it along with its “parent code” on the same claim. But an NCCI glitch has made it impossible for you to collect for both the debridement add-on code 97598 and its partner code 97597 — creating denied claims and confusion for practices that perform active wound care management. However, a new announcement indicating that the NCCI is fixing the problem should ease your coding angst.

The American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA) issued a release on its Web site stating that the National Correct Coding Initiative (NCCI) edits currently bundle the following two codes together:

97597 — Debridement (eg, high pressure waterjet with/without suction, sharp selective debridement with scissors, scalpel and forceps), open wound, (eg, fibrin, devitalized epidermis and/or dermis, exudate, debris, biofilm), including topical application(s), wound assessment, use of a whirlpool, when performed and instruction(s) for ongoing care, per session, total wound(s) surface area; first 20 sq cm or less
+97598 — …each additional 20 sq cm, or part thereof (List separately in addition to code for primary procedure)

This edit bundle has an indicator of “0,” meaning that no modifier can separate these codes. Fortunately, the APMA caught the error and contacted the NCCI director about it.

“The NCCI is currently working on a solution and recommends that APMA members delay submission of claims reporting combination of CPT 97597 and CPT 97598 until the NCCI replacement file is in place and implemented by CMS,” the APMA’s statement says. “The April 1, 2011 version of NCCI does not contain this edit error.”

The APMA has not yet gotten word on whether Medicare contractors will automatically reprocess claims that were paid in error...

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Ensure Compliance With ICD-10 With These 3 Tips

When ICD-9 becomes ICD-10 in 2013, you will not always have a simple crosswalk relationship between old codes and the new ones. Often, you’ll have more options that may require tweaking the way you document services and a coder reports it. Check out the following examples of how ICD-10 will change your coding options when the calendar turns to Oct. 1, 2013.

Celebrate Sinusitis Codes’ One-to-One Relationship for ICD-10

When your physician treats a patient for sinusitis, you should report the appropriate sinusitis code for sinus membrane lining inflammation. Use 461.x for acute sinusitis. For chronic sinusitis — frequent or persistent infections lasting more than three months — assign 473.x.

For both acute and chronic conditions, you’ll choose the fourth digit code based on where the sinusitis occurs. For example, for ethmoidal chronic sinusitis, you should report (473.2, Chronic sinusitis; ethmoidal). Your otolaryngologist will most likely prescribe a decongestant, pain reliever or antibiotics to treat sinusitis.

ICD-10 difference: Good news. These sinusitis options have a one-to-one match with upcoming ICD-10 codes. For acute sinusitis diagnoses, you’ll look at the J01.-0 codes. For instance, 461.0 (Acute maxillary sinusitis) translates to J01.00 (Acute maxillary sinusitis, unspecified). Code 461.1 (Acute frontal sinusitis) maps directly to J01.10 (Acute frontal sinusitis). Notice how the definitions are mostly identical. Like ICD-9, the fourth digit changes to specify location.

For chronic sinusitis diagnoses, you’ll look to the J32.- codes. For instance, in the example above, 473.2 maps direction to J32.2 (Chronic ethmoidal sinusitis). Again, this is a direct one-to-one ratio with identical definitions. Like ICD-9, the fourth digit changes to specify location.

Physician documentation: Currently, the physician should pinpoint the location of the sinusitis. This won’t change in 2013.

However, you’ll scrap the 461.x and 473.x options and turn to J01.-0 and J32.- in your ICD-10...

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4 Tips Help You Ensure Inhaler Service Success

Often a nurse or medical assistant helps a patient with an inhaler demo or evaluation, but whenever coding it, you must keep these three areas in mind: the type of device used, documentation requirements, and qualifying modifiers. Follow these four tips from our experts to understand why some payers might deny payment for the service — and what you can do to win deserved dollars.

1. Categorize the Diskus Correctly

Many physician offices use the Advair Diskus for their patients, which is an aerosol generator. “An aerosol generator is a device that produces airborne suspensions of small particles for inhalation therapy,” explains Peter Koukounas, owner of Hippocratic Solutions medical billing service in Fairfield, N.J. If the nurse or medical assistant taught someone to use an Advair Diskus — or any other diskus — you should report 94664 (Demonstration and/or evaluation of patient utilization of an aerosol generator, nebulizer, metered dose inhaler or IPPB device).

The physician starts a patient with asthma (493.00, Extrinsic asthma; unspecified or 493.20, Chronic obstructive asthma; unspecified) on Advair. A nurse then teaches the patient how to use the Diskus. According to CPT guidelines, you should report 99201-99215 for the office visit (depending on whether you’re treating a new or established patient). Then report 94664, but don’t append a modifier, says Alan L. Plummer, MD, professor of medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta.

CMS transmittal R954CP indicates that modifier 25 (Significant, separately identifiable E/M service by the same physician on the same day of the procedure or other service) applies only to E/M services performed with procedures that have a global fee period. Code 94664 does not have a global fee period, which is why you don’t automatically include modifier 25.

Despite what CMS guidelines might...

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Code Correct Closure Level With These Tips

All closures aren’t created equal; one of the nuances of coding these procedures is knowing how to distinguish one type from another. Read on for our experts’ advice on how to assess the three closure levels and assign the best codes.

A simple repair involves primarily the dermis and epidermis. It might involve subcutaneous tissues, but not deep layers.

How do you know when a closure might involve subcutaneous layers but is still considered a simple repair? Your provider’s documentation is the key. The difference is whether the wound is closed in layers or just a single layer, experts note. The provider might decide to include the subcutaneous layer in the closure but does so by bringing the needle through the dermis into the subcutaneous and back. That results in a single-layer closure rather than closing the subcutaneous layer first and then the dermis/epidermis second in separate closure techniques.

But “simple” doesn’t mean the repair is something anyone could do. Simple repairs involve one-layer closure, which helps set them apart from a standard E/M procedure. Simple repair also includes “local anesthesia, and chemical or electrocauterization of wounds not closed,” says Dilsia Santiago, CCS, CCS-P, a coder in Reading, Pa.

For example, if your dermatologist uses adhesive strips to close a laceration, consider it an E/M service that you’ll report with the best-fitting choice from codes 99201-99205 (Office or other outpatient visit for the evaluation and management of a new patient …) or 99211-99215 (Office or other outpatient visit for the evaluation and management of an established patient …). Most Steri-strip applications are done by nursing staff; but even if the physician applies them, they’re included in the E/M service.

If, however, your dermatologist uses sutures, staples, or tissue adhesives to close the laceration, consider it a separate procedure. Choose...

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Switch to 43327, 43328 for Esophagogastric Fundoplasty

Open or laparoscopic, through chest or abdominal wall, with or without hiatal hernia repair, with or without mesh … these are the various ways your surgeon might perform an esophagogastric fundoplasty. And these are the factors you’ll need to take into account when you try to pick the proper code(s) from among nine new choices in CPT 2011.

Let our experts show the way with four how-to tips for paraesophageal hiatalhernia repair and fundoplication coding for 2011.

Tip 1: Understand Pathophysiology

“When a patient is described as having a hiatal hernia, it usually means that part of the stomach has herniated through the opening in the diaphragm [esophageal hiatus] into the chest and is usually associated with esophageal reflux disease,” according to Gary W. Barone, MD, a physician and associate professor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock.

The hernia repair typically involves the surgeon reducing the stomach back into the abdomen and suturing the enlarged diaphragmatic hiatus, explains M. Tray Dunaway, MD, FACS, CSP, a general surgeon and an educator with Healthcare Value Inc. in Camden, S.C.

During the fundoplication procedure, such as Nissen, the surgeon additionally wraps part of the fundus (top) of the stomach around the esophagus and sutured in place. This creates a “valve” that allows food to reach the stomach from the esophagus but prevents reflux back to the esophagus.

“I would say the Nissen fundoplication is the most common surgical procedure to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD),” Dunaway adds. Watch for gastroplasty: Sometimes the esophagus is shortened and the surgeon can’t reduce the hernia. “The surgeon might perform a gastroplasty, forming a tube of stomach to effectively elongate the distal esophagus,” Dunaway says. An example of such a procedure is a Collis gastroplasty.

Tip 2: Use 43332-43337 for Open...

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37228-+37235 Cover Your Tibial/Peroneal Service Codes

Facing denials on your tibial/peroneal codes? No worries, help is at hand.

The new tibial/peroneal service codes are below. Note that all of the codes include angioplasty in the same vessel when that service is performed.

The first four codes apply to the initial tibial or peroneal vessel treated in a single leg:

  • Angioplasty: 37228 — Revascularization, endovascular, open or percutaneous, tibial/peroneal artery, unilateral, initial vessel; with transluminal angioplasty
  • Atherectomy (and angioplasty): 37229 — … with atherectomy, includes angioplasty within the same vessel, when performed
  • Stent (and angioplasty): 37230 – … with transluminal stent placement(s), includes angioplasty within the same vessel, when performed
  • Stent and atherectomy (and angioplasty): 37231 — … with transluminal stent placement(s) and atherectomy, includes angioplasty within the same vessel, when performed.

The final four codes are add-on codes that you use to report services on each additional ipsilateral (same side) vessel treated in the tibial/peroneal territory:

  • Angioplasty: +37232 — Revascularization, endovascular, open or percutaneous, tibial/peroneal artery, unilateral, each additional vessel; with transluminal angioplasty (List separately in addition to code for primary procedure) (use with 37228-37231)
  • Atherectomy (and angioplasty): +37233 — … with atherectomy, includes angioplasty within the same vessel, when performed (List separately in addition to code for primary procedure) (use with 37229-37231)
  • Stent (and angioplasty): +37234 — … with transluminal stent placement(s), includes angioplasty within the same vessel, when performed (List separately in addition to code for primary procedure) (use with 37230-37231)
  • Stent and atherectomy (and angioplasty): +37235 — … with transluminal stent placement(s) and atherectomy, includes angioplastywithin the same vessel, when performed (List separately in addition to code for primary procedure) (use with 37231).

The general rule for the revascularization codes is that you should report the one code that represents the most intensive service performed in a single...

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Pain Management: Is Headache Coding Giving You Headaches?

If your neurologist or pain specialist administers greater occipital nerve blocks, don’t let coding turn into a headache. Verify specifics about the patient’s headache and the service your provider offered to pinpoint the correct diagnosis and procedure codes every time. Our 4 questions will point you to the best diagnosis and injection codes.

Where Is the Occipital Nerve?

The greater occipital nerve (GON) originates from the posterior medial branch of the C2 spinal nerve and provides sensory innervations to the posterior area of the scalp extending to the top of the head. Physicians typically inject the GON at the level of the superior nuchal line just above the base of the skull for occipital headaches or neck pain.

Some physician practices include a small illustration in the chart that the physician can mark with various injection sites. Including this type of tool helps your physician clearly document the injection location, which helps you choose the correct nerve injection code and submit more accurate claims.

What Type of Headache Does the Patient Have?

Your physician’s documentation might include notes ranging from “occipital headache” to “occipital neuralgia” to “cervicogenic headache.” Your job is to ensure that you interpret the notes and assign the most accurate diagnosis.

Occipital headache: ICD-9’s alphabetic index does not include a specific listing for occipital headache. Because of this, report the general code 784.0 (Headache), which includes “Pain in head NOS.” More details in your provider’s notes might lead to diagnoses such as 307.81 (Tension headache), 339.00 (Cluster headaches), 339.1x (Tension type headache), or 346.xx (Migraine).

Occipital neuralgia: You have a more specific diagnosis to code when your provider documents occipital neuralgia. Greater occipital neuralgia produces an aching, burning, or throbbing pain or a tingling or numbness along the back of the head. You’ll report diagnosis 723.8...

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ICD-10: 2 New H Codes To Take Place Of 366.16 in 2013

When ICD-9 becomes ICD-10 in October 2013, the diagnosis codes you’re accustomed to reporting will no longer exist. Many diagnosis codes will include more details than their current counterparts, and some sub-codes of the same family will even move t...

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Per New CMS Transmittal Modifier, All Claims With Modifier GZ Will Be Denied Immediately

As per the latest CMS regulation, all claims with modifier GZ appended will be denied straight away. It is not unusual even in the best-run medical practices that the physician performs a noncovered service and doesn’t get an ABN signed. If you shoul...

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GI Tract Reporting: When and When Not To Use 91110, 91111

While you know for sure that you can report 91110 and 91111 for capsule study, but knowing just that is not enough to prevent your claims from being denied. We’ll tell you just when it is appropriate to report them  and which modifiers to append.

Reporting a Repeat Procedure with 91110

Sometimes, your gastroenterologist would use a capsule study to image the intraluminal esophagus all the way through the ileum and reaching the colon. In this case, you should report 91110 (Gastrointestinal tract imaging, intraluminal [e.g., capsule endoscopy], esophagus through ileum, with physician interpretation and report).

Let’s take an example. Patient comes in for a capsule endoscopy, but the capsule gets stuck in foodon hour five and visuals cannot be seen past the stomach. The gastroenterologist ends up repeating the procedure to see if she can see the small and large intestine.

First, you would code 91110 and then attach modifier 53 (Discontinued procedure) to indicate that the physician repeated the procedure. If the physician decides not to repeat the procedure, you should append modifier 52 (Reduced services) to reflect that the capsule imaged the patient’s anatomy until it became lodged in the food.

If you plan on repeating a capsule study due to technical problems, it is a good idea to pre-authorize payment for the second study with the carrier. You may need to provide records of the incomplete study.

CPT 91110’s descriptor clearly states the evaluation is from the esophagus to the ileum. The only time this won’t be true is when the gastroenterologist places the pill cam endoscopically for the study, says Joel V. Brill, MD, AGAF, chief medical officer at Predictive Health LLC in Phoenix. Again in this case, you should attach modifier 52 to 91110.

Know What ‘SB’ and ‘ESO’ Mean on PillCam...

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