May 5, 2023 | By Stacie L. Buck, RHIA, CCS-P, RCC, RCCIR, CIRCC It is no secret that interventional radiology is one of the most difficult specialties for coders and auditors to master. In particular, coding correctly for embolization procedures can be tricky due to the multiple coding considerations involved. This article provides tips…
January 19, 2023 | By Scott Kraft, CPMA, CPC Practices and providers can bill monthly chronic pain management services for Medicare patients beginning in 2023, using two new HCPCS G codes: G3002 and G3003. But these new codes come with specific guidelines that auditors will need to be on the lookout for when providers…
January 13, 2023 | By J. Paul Spencer, CPC, COC I received a great question the other day, and I thought it was a great stepping-off point for a discussion in this space. It’s 2023, and a patient is placed in observation status by an admitting physician. A non-admitting physician is called in for…
October 21, 2022 | By Shannon DeConda, CPC, CEMC, CEMA, CPMA, CRTT Whether reviewing common questions received through the NAMAS Ask the Auditor form, questions received during our webinars, BootCamps, workshops, or during provider training and audit feedback sessions, two topics seem to always be on replay. These topics are the proper use of…
Have you given much thought to an encounter that you might review that actually has CPT or ICD-9 codes documented or included right in the EMR-produced note? (Yes, I do start off many conversations just that way. To be in my head… it’s a scary thing!) So, here’s my question to you: What happens when…
September 9, 2022 | By Stacie L. Buck, RHIA, CCS-P, RCC, RCCIR, CIRCC Each day thousands of patients are undergoing one or more therapeutic interventions, the most common ones being angioplasty, stent and atherectomy of the lower extremity arteries to treat various forms of peripheral vascular disease. This article will highlight the most common…
August 19, 2022 | By Shannon DeConda, CPC, CEMC, CEMA, CPMA, CRTT Training techniques used from the 2021 Documentation Guidelines training and implementation may be helpful with training for these updates as well, even though these updates relate to different types and places of service. However, a lesson learned from 2021 was that education,…
August 5, 2022 | By Michele Strickland, CPC, CEMA Incident-To is often discussed in coding and compliance circles, but when reviewing encounters, I routinely find the criteria fails to meet or support the billing of non-physician practitioners (NPPs) and/or other clinical staff (auxiliary). There are two types of Incident-To services; a component of the service…
You know, most of the training I see out there, and even most of the training that I’m asked to do on E&M 2021 documentation guidelines surrounds MDM, so a lot of it isn’t even on time-based. So, set your watch. Let’s spend just a few minutes talking about…time. I’d like to start off by…
November 12, 2020 | By Priscilla J. Alfaro, MD, FAAP, CPC, CPMA, COC, CFE Genetic testing has grown exponentially over the last decade. The elimination of patent protection on human genes, the proliferation of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology, and the rapid discovery of gene-disease connections have all contributed to this trend. * The rapidly…