November 1, 2023 | By Shannon O. DeConda We conducted a comprehensive survey to gain a better understanding of the ongoing debate in the industry about whether the E/M level of services is increasing or decreasing with the latest guidelines implemented in 2021. While we acknowledge that the survey isn’t scientifically conclusive, we urge organizations…
December 25, 2020 | By By Grant Huang, CPC, CPMA The New Year is nearly upon us and with it, implementation of the much-talked-about 2021 E/M guidelines for office/outpatient codes 99202-99215. These guidelines include completely revamping how time works for selecting code levels, which in turn has resulted in brand new rules for prolonged…
October 29, 2021 | Edward Townley CPC, CEMC, CUC, ROCC, Founder, Cogent9 Consulting This is the time of year that we receive our new coding manuals. First the ICD-10, which becomes effective October 1 and CPT and HCPCS manuals which come nearer to the end of the calendar year, and effective January 1. For…
October 20, 2023 | By Jennifer McNamara, CCS, CPC, CDEO, CPMA, CRC, COSC, CGSC, COPC, AAPC Approved Instructor | CEO, Healthcare Inspired, LLC Every year we get updates to the Official Guidelines for Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting, and this year for reporting year 2024 we received an update regarding Chapter 21 for…
October 13, 2023 | By J. Paul Spencer, CPC, COC Way back in 1976, as an elementary school kid in the suburbs of Philadelphia, I came across a book in the library called 2010: Living in the Future. In my then-current world of AMC Pacers and seersucker suits, the book promised great things. Apparently,…
Let’s have a conversation about the data column on MDM. Specifically, what I’d like to address is imaging services. When a provider performs an x-ray while seeing a patient, and they are not going to bill a professional component of that test, how do we count that service? Is that service something we can count?…
February 19, 2021 | By David Carpenter Critical care billing is relatively simple. Documentation requires three items – The patient is critically ill. What the provider is doing to treat or prevent organ system failure or compromise. How much time the provider spent providing critical care. While critical care billing is relatively simple,…
September 22, 2023 | By Shannon DeConda, CPC, CEMC, CEMA, CPMA, CRTT Let’s get uncomfortably honest. With continued reimbursement cuts, like this year’s $9-12k per provider E/M cut, organizations cannot sustain 100% coding validation. Now, let’s get brutally honest. This is compounded by a lack of truly skilled and knowledgeable coders looking to fill the…
February 11, 2022 | Aimee L. Wilcox, CPMA, CCS-P, CST, MA, MT, Director of Content, innoviHealth How have you felt when you embarked upon an audit, expecting to find certain basic standards of documentation to be present, but instead found them missing? Do you pull out your favorite red pen, grab a cup of…
March 24, 2023 | By Jennifer McNamara, CCS, CPC, CDEO, CPMA, CRC, COSC, CGSC, COPC, AAPC Approved Instructor | CEO, Healthcare Inspired, LLC One modifier that often raises eyebrows and questions is Modifier 62. This modifier can impact reimbursement and compliance, making it a focal point for audits by the Office of Inspector General…