December 30, 2021 Question: Can we bill the 92242 for the indocyanine green injection intraoperatively, for example to assess perfusion after a colectomy or other abdominal procedure? Can we bill for the injection using 15860? Answer: No, this service is included in primary surgery and not separately reported. *This response is based on the best...
December 16, 2021 Question: Since we have to bring the patients back in for COVID testing and H&P for Joint Commission, can we bill for this visit even though it’s another pre-op visit? Answer: Yes, since the original surgery was canceled and is now under consideration for rescheduling due to the pandemic and needs to...
December 2, 2021 Question: Can we bill telehealth visits by time alone? Answer: Telehealth visits can now be billed according to medical decision-making (MDM) or time, so yes, as long as the code indicates it can be a time-based service in the CPT (e.g. 99201-99215). Just make sure to document the exact number of minutes...
November 11, 2021 Question: I heard that Medicare patients don’t have to pay their deductible or coinsurance if they have a telemedicine visit. Is this true? Answer: Medicare is not waiving deductibles or co-insurance. However, they are allowing providers to do so at their discretion without penalty for telemedicine visits. This means the provider will...
October 28, 2021 Question: We have an office-based vein center and have heard that something called LCDs should be followed before a procedure is performed. We’re not sure what these are or if they are important and, if so, how to integrate them into our office processes. Answer: An LCD is a Local Coverage Determination....
October 14, 2021 Question: I’m a general surgeon. Some of my team are reporting the negative pressure wound therapy codes 97605 and 97606 when applying wound vacs after closing at the completion of their surgical cases. As a result, I am told by my coders that billing for these wound vacs is not appropriate, since...
September 30, 2021 Question: In the past, when I did a total thyroidectomy and I needed to re-implant a parathyroid gland I would also code 60512. I am now being told by my coders that I cannot code 60512 if I implant a parathyroid gland in the sternocleidomastoid muscle. They say I can only charge...
September 16, 2021 Question: If a code does not specify whether the procedure described is laparoscopic or open, is it acceptable to use it if the procedure was performed laparoscopically? Answer: No. Laparoscopic codes will always have the term “laparoscopic” in the code description. If there is no laparoscopic code for a procedure you performed...
September 2, 2021 Question: How do I report placement of a mesh implant in the abdomen that is not a biological implant and not for an open incisional hernia? Answer: Placement of a non-biological implant in the abdomen is reported with code +0437T Implantation of non-biologic or synthetic implant (eg, polypropylene) for fascial reinforcement of...
August 19, 2021 Question: I’ve been dictating CPT and ICD-10-CM codes in my procedure note so that my coder knows what to bill. Recently, we had an insurance company call us out because the codes we billed were not the same as the codes in the procedure note. Now I am not sure what to...
