New options replace 49420 for tunneled catheter. Choosing an intraperitoneal catheter insertion used to mean deciding between “permanent” and “temporary” — but CPT 2011 changes all that. Now you’ll need to know if the procedure is open, lap...
Verify evidence of previous treatments for successful claims.
If you’re coding for a patient’s carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) injection, double check for previous, less invasive CTS treatments before getting too far with your claim. If the physician administers an injection during the patient’s initial visit for CTS, you could be facing a denial. Some payers allow CTS injection therapy only when other treatments have failed. Check out these FAQs to make each CTS coding scenario a snap.
Should the Physician Try Other Treatments Before 20526?
Yes. The FP would likely try less invasive treatments before resorting to CTS injection (20526, Injection, therapeutic [e.g. local anesthetic, corticosteroid], carpal tunnel), confirms Marvel J. Hammer, RN, CPC, CCS-P, PCS, ACS-PM, CHCO, owner of MJH Consulting in Denver. These treatments might include, but are not limited to:
If the patient’s symptoms don’t improve after these attempts, the physician may then proceed with a corticosteroid injection of the carpal tunnel, Hammer says.
Caveat: Check with the payer if you are unsure of its “previous treatment” requirements. Even evidence of previous treatments might not be enough to convince some insurers, says Jacqui Jones, a physician office manager in Klamath Falls, Ore. “We have had a couple of contracted HMOs [health maintenance organizations] impose conservative nonsurgical treatment – even with previous treatment and positive nerve conduction velocities ordered by another physician,” says Jones.
What Diagnoses Support Carpal Tunnel?
Patients that become candidates for CTS injections may present initially with “complaints of progressively worse numbness and tingling (782.0, Disturbance of skin sensation) in their hand and wrist, particularly the thumb, index, and middle finger,” Hammer explains. As the CTS...
Beware of CPT® and Medicare differences when counting HPI elements.
Not accurately accounting for the history of presentillness (HPI) documented by your oncologist could result in missing appropriate opportunities to report level 4 or 5 E/M visits. Ensure you’re not missing higher paying possibilities by reviewing this guide to capturing HPI elements.
Brush Up on What Qualifies as an HPI Element
HPI is one of the three parts comprising an outpatient E/M history. It describes the patient’s present illness or problem, from the first sign/symptom to the current status, and typically drives a provider’s decisions about the physical examination and treatment. “The information gathered during the physical exam (PE) portion of a patient’s evaluation often only shows a very limited picture of the patient’s problem. However, speaking with a patient and gathering the history of the patient’s problem” can help fill out the picture, explains Amanda S. Stoltman, CCS-P, compliance coder at Urology Associates in Muncie, Ind.
Start counting:
HPI also will often determine the level of service you’ll report. You’ll count the HPI elements to help you determine which level of service you can report. There are seven or eight HPI elements, depending on which source you are following. For Medicare, the eight elements are as follows:
Medicare includes the above list in both the 1995 and 1997 E/M Documentation Guidelines, available at www.cms.gov/MLNEdWebGuide/25_EMDOC.asp.
In contrast: CPT® lists only seven HPI elements in the E/M Services Guidelines, with duration not making the list. Therefore, for Medicare and payers following its guidelines, you should consider duration and timing separately. With payers that follow AMA rules, however, be aware that they don’t consider duration and timing to be two separate elements. Rumor has it...
Q: Since April 1, our clearinghouse has been rejecting claims with NTIOL Q1003. We understand that no additional reimbursement was to be received after the expiration date of Feb. 26,…
Until now, you could not code for the additional service — and hence not get the pay — when your general surgeon placed interstitial devices for radiation therapy guidance during a distinct open or laparoscopic abdominal procedure. But two new CPT 2011 codes for the procedure help you capture all the pay you deserve.
Open, Lap, or Percutaneous Approach Distinguish Placement
Last year, you had one code to use when your surgeon placed an abdominal interstitial device for radiation therapy guidance — 49411 (Placement of interstitial device[s] for radiation therapy guidance [e.g., fiducial markers, dosimeter], percutaneous, intra-abdominal, intra-pelvic [except prostate], and/or retroperitoneum, single or multiple).
“If your surgeon performed the device placement during an open or laparoscopic procedure prior to 2011, you had no way to capture the service,” says Marcella Bucknam, CPC, CCS-P, CPC-H, CCS, CPC-P, COBGC, CCC, manager of compliance education for the University of Washington Physicians Compliance Program in Seattle.
Now CPT 2011 adds two new add-on codes to describe interstitial device placement during another procedure, as follows:
Choose +49327 for a laparoscopic approach, and +49412 for an open procedure. “Note that these are add-on codes, which means you can report them only in addition to a primary procedure,” Bucknam advises.
Continue to report 49411 for percutaneous interstitial device placement as a stand-alone procedure.
Use codes 49411, +49412, and +49327...
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:
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...
Your orthopedist injects both of a patient’s wrists to treat carpal tunnel syndrome. Should you just file 20526 with modifier 50 appended and forget about it? Not so fast: If the physician injects both the patient’s wrists to treat CTS, you will ty...
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...
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...
Think outside the box for iliac atherectomy.
Are you ready to apply CPT’s new revascularization codes starting January 1? Check out these six tips to get you on your way.
CPT 2011 offers up new codes to help you report services more accurately, including endovascular revascularization, says Marcella Bucknam, CPC, CCS-P, CPC-H, CCS, CPC-P, COBGC, CCC, manager of compliance education for the University of Washington Physicians Compliance Program in Seattle.
Specifically, CPT 2011 adds several new codes that represent lower extremity endovascular revascularization, meaning angioplasty, atherectomy, and stenting. Here’s how the codes break down:
In this article, iliac artery services are the focus. Look to future articles to discuss femoral, popliteal, and tibial/peroneal services.
Watch Procedure and Vessel to Choose Among 37220-+37223
The new iliac service codes are as follows:
Reading through the definitions, you see that the codes for iliac services differ based on whether you’re coding a service in an initial vessel or in an additional vessel. Your options also differ based on whether you’re reporting (1) angioplasty alone or...
If you’re receiving denials from Medicare, one possibility is that you’re running up against medically unlikely edits (MUEs). The edits, which are designed to prevent overpayments caused by gross billing errors, usually a result of clerical or billing systems’ mistakes, often confuse even veteran coders.
Ensure you’re not letting MUEs wreak havoc on your urology practice’s coding and reimbursement by uncovering the truth about four aspects of these edits.
While you shouldn’t stress too much, any practice filing a claim with Medicare should know what MUEs are and how they work.
“They limit the frequency a CPT code can be used,” says Chandra L. Hines, business office manager at Capital Urological Associates in Raleigh, N.C. “With our specialty of urology, we need to become aware of the denials and not let every denial go because the insurance company said it was an MUE. We should all be aware of MUEs as they occur, and we cannot always control whether or not we will receive payment.”
The MUE list includes specific CPT or HCPCS codes, followed by the number of units that CMS will pay. CMS developed the MUEs to reduce paid claims error rates in the Medicare Program, says Jillian Harrington, MHA, CPC, CPC-P, CPCI, CCS-P, president of ComplyCode in Binghamton, New York. “The first edits were implemented in January 2007, although the edits themselves became public in October 2008,” she adds.
Some MUEs deal with anatomical impossibilities while others edit automatically the number of units of service you can bill for a service in any 24-hour period. Still others limit codes according to CMS policy. For example, excision of a hydrocele, bilateral (55041) has a bilateral indicator of “2,” so you should never bill two or more units of this code. Additional edits focus on the nature of...
600 coders, physicians, and office managers gathered in Orlando, Fla. for one and a half jam-packed days of education, networking, and shopping at the December 2011 Coding Update and Reimbursement Conference. Coders’ biggest struggle was absorbing all the information – and not overdoing the holiday buying. Experts offered the inside scoop on medical coding changes for 2011 and beyond. Here are my top picks:
This...
488.1x Cheat sheet makes fast work of snagging correct code.
Don’t let rumors of few ICD-9 changes in prep for ICD-10 blindside you to top diagnosis changes for 2011. Without the scoop on expansion to the 488, 784, and 787 categories, denials for invalid codes will derail your claims delaying your payments.
In ICD-9 2011, “Codes continue to become more and more specific necessitating a provider to document clearly and thoroughly to allow for selection of the most specific and accurate code,” says Jennifer Swindle, RHIT, CCS-P, CEMC, CFPC, CCP-P, PCS, Director Coding & Compliance Division, PivotHealth, LLC.
Good news: Updating your ICD-9 coding by the Oct. 1, 2010, effective date doesn’t have to be a chore. Start using your new choices in no time flat following these guidelines.
Look at Manifestation When Assigning “Swine Flu” Dx
This fall, when a patient has H1N1 (“swine flu”) pay attention to two details. The medical record will have to identify the correct influenza and you will have to capture the appropriate manifestation to select the codes to the degree of specificity now required, Swindle points out.
With the change “category 488 (Influenza due to certain identified influenza viruses) would mirror the structure of category 487 (Influenza),” according to the Summary of March 2010 ICD-9-CM Coordination and Maintenance Committee Meeting. The current 488.x sub-category didn’t provide the level of detail that category 487 (Influenza) does.
Change: There will be “tremendous expansion of the H1N1 category,” Swindle explains. ICD-9 2011 deletes 488.0 and 488.1 and adds six new five-digit codes. New codes 488.0x (Influenza due to identified avian influenza virus) and 488.1x (Influenza due to identified novel H1N1 influenza virus) allow you “to uniquely capture pneumonia, other respiratory manifestations, and other manifestations occurring with these types of influenza,” states the summary.
Starting Oct....
If patient’s critical care and visit satisfies time regs, 99291 is the better bet.
When scouring the notes for evidence of an emergency department caveat scenario, coders can easily forget to ask themselves one simple question: Can I report a critical care code for this scenario?
The answer’s yes more often than you might think, says Caral Edelberg, CPC, CPMA, CCS-P, CHC, president of Edelberg Compliance Associates in Baton Rouge, La.
“Many patients who qualify for the caveat may also be candidates for critical care. If the condition is severe enough that the patient’s ability to provide this information is impaired, then the condition may be critical,” she explains.
Critical Care Omits Specific History Component
Considering critical care and the caveat simultaneously can make your head spin, as the ED caveat does not even apply to 99291 (Critical care, evaluation and management of the critical ill or critically injured patient; first 30-74 minutes) or +99292 (… each additional 30 minutes [List separately in addition to code for primary service]).
Why? “There are not the same bullet-counting requirements for documentation of history, physical examination, or MDM [medical decision making] for critical care,” explains Edelberg. The descriptors for critical care concern only E/M of the critically ill or injured patient.
So when your physician invokes the emergency department caveat for a patient, check to see if the patient was critically ill or injured; if she was, and the physician documents at least 30 minutes of critical care, consider 99291.
Payout: The only level of service you can invoke the emergency department caveat on is 99285 (Emergency department visit for the evaluation and management of a patient, which requires these 3 key components within the constraints imposed by the urgency of the patient’s clinical condition and/or mental status: a comprehensive history; a...
Understand what FHR involves and when patients benefit.
An initial femoral head resurfacing (FHR) procedure involves only the femoral head and not the acetabular socket of the hip joint. The surgeon mills the femoral head and implants a metal hemisphere over the bone that exactly matches the size of the original femoral head.
FHR helps “buy time” for patients whose disease or degree of progression doesn’t merit total hip replacement (27130, Arthroplasty, acetabular and proximal femoral prosthetic replacement [total hip arthroplasty], with or without autograft or allograft).
This is especially true for younger patients because femoral head resurfacing preserves more bone stock for possible later revisions.
Judy Larson, CPC, billing manager for Rockford Orthopedic Associates in Rockford, Ill., shares a few advantages of choosing FHR:
The metal head used during FHR will wear out the socket over time, however, and the patient will need total hip replacement.
Once the patient reaches the point of total hip replacement you’ll code the new procedure as a conversion with 27132 (Conversion of previous hip surgery to total hip arthroplasty, with or without autograft or allograft), says Heidi Stout, CPC, CCS-P, director of orthopedic coding services at The Coding Network.
@ Orthopedic Coding Alert. Editor: Leigh DeLozier, CPC
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Don’t look for a raise just yet, in most cases.
CMS may talk, but MACs don’t always listen — at least not quickly.
As we told you in last week’s Insider, CMS recently corrected several “technical errors” published in the 2010 Fee Schedule, and thanks to these corrections, Medicare will increase payment for several cardiology-related testing codes, including codes 75571-75574 (Heart CT) and 78451-78454 (Heart muscle SPECT imaging).
Although many practices are eager to see the payment boosts in their next Medicare payments, that may be an overly ambitious goal at this point.
“I inquired with a few MAC carriers such as Trailblazer, Noridian, and Palmetto, and was told different things by different Medicare payers,” says Terry Fletcher, BS, CPC, CCS-P, CCS, CMSCS, CCC, CEMS, CMS, CEO of Terry Fletcher Consulting Inc.
“One did not even know there was a change,” she says. “Next, Noridian said that they will be making the adjustments when they get the directive from CMS. And Palmetto said they would need the provider to contact them and then batch retroactive to January the myocardial perfusion imaging claims and send a letter to request the increase,” she says.
Bottom line: Until CMS provides a clear answer to the MACs regarding when they must implement the changes, you may not see your pay increases, but keep an eye on your carrier’s Web site for information on when it intends to reprocess claims using the new rates.
@ Part B Insider. Editor: Torrey Kim, CPC
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