October 14, 2021 Question: My Mohs surgeon was performing Mohs surgery on the scalp and completed stage 1 and 2 but cancer was still evident in the margins. The patient needed a third stage but could not tolerate the third stage on the same date. The patient came back the next day and the physician...
September 30, 2021 Question: I did several steroid injections on the patient’s palm for psoriasis. I am not sure what CPT code to use. Can you provide me with the correct code? My coder thinks I would use an unlisted code. Answer: The correct CPT code to use is 11900 up to 7 lesions and...
September 16, 2021 Question: We have recently begun treating our psoriasis patients using XTRAC laser therapy. I have looked extensively and cannot find a CPT code for this procedure. Can you help me? Answer: The XTRAC excimer laser is reimbursed by most payors for mild to moderate plaque psoriasis by most major insurance carriers. Some...
September 2, 2021 Question: I am new to Dermatology coding and need some help. My physician saw a patient with psoriasis and the documentation says she performed light therapy on the palm of the right hand and left forearm. My physician told me to report 96900 for ultraviolet light therapy. My question is can I...
August 19, 2021 Question: I am trying to code a repair. My physician performed one stage of Mohs surgery and the documentation says he did a “purse string repair” How would I code this? Answer: Usually a purse string repair is a simple repair report using a code from 12001-12018. But look carefully at the...
August 5, 2021 Question: My doctors are providing telehealth office visits using audio only. They have told me it is okay to use E/M codes 99202-99215 for telephone visits. I was reading the temporary guidelines for Telehealth during the PHE and cannot verify these are the right codes. Can you help? Answer: When the telehealth...
July 22, 2021 Question: My physician used liquid nitrogen to destroy a benign lesion on the eyelid margin. Can I use CPT code 67850 when using liquid nitrogen to destroy a lesion on the eyelid? Answer: The CPT definition for this code specifies lid margin. So if the lesion is on the margin, the code...
July 8, 2021 Question: We have been providing Telehealth visits using audio and visual means to many of our patients during the Covid-19 pandemic. Can we bill telehealth visits by time alone? Answer: For Medicare claims, telehealth visits can now be billed according to medical decision-making (MDM) or time, so yes, as long as the...
June 24, 2021 Question: I am a Dermatologist. I have a patient who was referred to my office who has dementia and was unable to provide her medical history. The patient’s granddaughter was able to provide the patient’s medical history to me as the patient was confused and unable to provide this information. Is there...
June 10, 2021 Question: If I use time to select my E/M service in the office, can I just document the total time? Answer: No, you must document the actual time along with the activities performed. According to the AMA, list the total time and describe what activities were done. “I spent 45 minutes caring...
