May 12, 2023 | By Scott Kraft, CPMA, CPC The E/M Documentation Guidelines implemented in 2021 essentially place, time and medical decision making on equal footing. When visit time is documented, the service can be coded based on whichever of time and medical decision making is most favorable to the provider. This has led…
March 31, 2023 | By Pam Vanderbilt, CPC, CPMA, CPPM, CPC-I, CEMC, CDEO, CPB, CFPC, CRC, CPEDC, CEMA President, Knowledge Tree Billing, Inc. A lot happens in March! Spring officially begins — bringing with it new growth, Spring Break, and basketball fans across the country get bracket crazy with March Madness. In all the…
March 24, 2023 | By Jennifer McNamara, CCS,CPC,CDEO,CPMA,CRC, COSC,CGSC,COPC, AAPC Approved Instructor | Director of Education and Coding, oncospark When auditing medical charts, there are significant differences between evaluation and management services (E/M) and surgical services. These differences are essential to understand to ensure that the medical documentation is accurate, complete, and compliant with regulatory requirements.…
Just as we have changed professionally post-COVID, our work environments also may have changed or may need to change. In Today’s Take, I’d like to discuss the structural changes that need to take place post-COVID. Recently, Stephanie Allard did an amazing job presenting a NAMAS webinar addressing the organizational structure of your internal audit teams.…
We often spend a lot of time talking about prescription drug management. Today in our “Take” we will spend time addressing over-the-counter medication. This question was submitted to me by Kelly, who works in a dermatology practice, but her question is relevant no matter your specialty. Kelly’s question is about a physician who is using…
February 24, 2023 | By Sonal Patel, CPMA, CPC, CMC, ICDCM Well, the time is finally here! 2023 has ushered in a new standard for how we look at evaluation and management (“E/M”) services. Physicians, providers, coders, auditors, educators, and compliance professionals alike are finally able to utilize much more than the “bean-counting” methods…
February 17, 2023 | By Brenda Edwards, CPC, CDEO, CPB, CPC-I, CEMC, CRC, CMRS, CMCS Happy Friday! We have our first month of 2023 behind us which means the first of the claims for the new year have been submitted. Here’s the $100,000 question – are you claims paying appropriately with the 2023 Evaluation…
In the expansion category of the 2021 documentation guidelines, there’s some information that may be a little confusing that would like to review with you in Today’s Take. On page 23, under Initial Hospital Inpatient or Observation Care, under the New and Established Patient, there’s a paragraph that reads a little confusing: “If a consultation…
February 10, 2023 | By Grant Huang, CPMA, CPC The realm of E/M auditing is vast, and 2023 will bring more work here than before thanks to CPT’s extensive revisions to its E/M guidelines for inpatient, facility, and home visit services — now in effect. Both compliance professionals and providers must always keep in…
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…