Q: A patient was in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber for eight minutes and the physician had to abort the treatment because the patient was feeling anxious. Which HCPCS/CPT ® code should the hospital bill: HCPCS code C1300 (hyperbaric oxygen under pressure, full body chamber, per 30 minute interval) or an E/M code? Which code should the supervising physician bill: CPT code 99183 (physician or other qualified healthcare professional attendance and supervision of hyperbaric oxygen therapy, per session) or an E/M code?
The October update to the OPPS and Integrated Outpatient Code Editor (I/OCE) includes a payment correction, in addition to new HCPCS codes and other changes. Dave Fee, MBA, reviews CMS' changes and details the retroactive payment correction.
Coders and clinical documentation improvement (CDI) specialists have different perspectives and priorities even on common diagnoses. HCPro boot camp instructors Shannon E. McCall, RHIA, CCS, CCS-P,...
With flu season just around the corner (hey, where did summer go?), Melissa took her 4-year-old son Andrew to Dr. Spock, the pediatrician, for his flu shot Wednesday. With a minimum of fuss (and a...
Not feeling well? The problem could be in your small intestine. Shelley C. Safian, PhD, CCS-P, CPC-H, CPC-I, AHIMA-approved ICD-10-CM/PCS trainer, reviews common conditions related to the small intestine.
If coders choose the wrong root operation in ICD-10-PCS, they will arrive at an incorrect code. Nena Scott, MSEd, RHIA, CCS, CCS-P, AHIMA-approved ICD-10-CM/PCS trainer, Gretchen Young-Charles, RHIA, Anita Rapier, RHIT, CCS, and Nelly Leon-Chisen, RHIA, discuss some of the root operation clarifications offered by Coding Clinic .
ICD-10 implementation and coding present plenty of challenges, especially when it comes to ICD-10-PCS. Sue Bowman, RHIA, CCS, and Donna Smith, RHIA, clear up some misconceptions about ICD-10 implementation and use.
Q: Is it okay to code a diagnosis if the physician documents two diagnoses using the phrase “versus” between them? For example, the patient arrives with abdominal pain and the physician orders labs and other tests, but they all come back normal. In the discharge note, the physician documents “abdominal pain, gastroenteritis versus irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).” When I first started as a CDI specialist I was told we could not use diagnoses when "versus” was stated, and that we had to query for clarification.
Recovery Auditors have uncovered incorrect secondary diagnoses in patients who underwent amputations for musculoskeletal and circulatory system disorders. CMS revealed the findings in its Quarterly Compliance Newsletter .
Some days I swear I have the attention span of a hyperactive hummingbird or Dug the talking dog from the movie “Up.” Maybe what I really have is attention deficit disorder (ADD). How would you code...
ICD-10 implementation will impact different specialties and hospital departments in distinct ways. Andrew D. Boyd, MD, and Neeta K. Venepalli, MD, MBA , recently conducted a pair of studies to determine the financial and informational impact of ICD-10 on a variety of specialties.
Q: What if the provider states that diabetes is due to the adverse effects of a drug, but doesn't tell us which drug? How do we report that in ICD-10-CM?
ICD-10-CM readiness goes beyond training coders on the new code set. Rhonda Buckholtz , Wendy Aiken, and Sid Hebert, look at the impact of implementation on physicians and payers, and how providers can ease the transition.
Most diabetes codes in ICD-10-CM include more details than ICD-9-CM codes, but coders also need to consider additional codes. Jillian Harrington, MHA, CPC, CPC-I, CPC-P, CCS, CCS-P, MHP , and Rhonda Buckholtz, CPC, CPMA, CPC-I, CGSC, COBGC, CPEDC, CENTC, review key aspects for coding diabetes in ICD-10-CM.
CMS recently updated the Medicare Claims Processing Manual , with changes announced in Transmittal 3020 , to include ICD-10-specific language ahead of next year's implementation.
CMS is currently hosting an ICD-10 "Code-a-thon" (a title which instantly brings to mind all of the PBS pledge drives I’ve unwittingly watched). One of the questions that has come up repeatedly is...
Ebola has been in the news quite a bit recently and it’s actually a good global case study for why we should be using ICD-10-CM codes. ICD-9-CM does not include a specific code for Ebola. It gets...
The 2015 IPPS final rule focused on quality measures. James S. Kennedy, MD, CCS, CDIP, and Cheryl Ericson, MS, RN, CCDS, CDI-P, highlight the changes and explain the role of coding in quality scores.
