May 23, 2019 Question: If a cubital tunnel release is performed by endoscopy how should it be reported? We report 64718 when it’s performed as an open procedure. Just not sure how to report it when it is done by endoscope. Answer: Thanks for your submission. There is currently no Category I CPT code for...
May 9, 2019 Question: A patient presents with a CD of an X-Ray that was performed at another institution that was previously read by the radiologist. If one of my surgeons reads the X-Ray I can we bill for the second reading? Answer: No, reading an X-Ray that was taken elsewhere, and previously interpreted by...
April 25, 2019 Question: My surgeon did a C2-C7 laminoplasty and reconstructed with mini-plates. What code should I use? Answer: This procedure is reported using CPT 63051 (Laminoplasty, cervical, with decompression of the spinal cord, 2 or more vertebral segments; with reconstruction of the posterior bony elements (including the application of bridging bone graft and...
April 11, 2019 Question: I appreciate your patience in answering my questions. I understand the E&M scenarios so let me throw in another type of call coverage relationship. Recently, I returned a patient to the OR for the physician I was covering; the patient had dislocated their hip after a hip arthroplasty. I reported CPT...
March 28, 2019 Question: Thanks for answering my question last time – I get it now that I would not charge for rounding on post-op patients of my call partners. What about non-surgical patients? Occasionally we may have a patient hospitalized with a non-operative condition such as septic arthritis for IV antibiotics that require evaluation...
March 14, 2019 Question: I have just a quick question regarding weekend rounding. I share weekend call with another practice that I am not affiliated with. We sign off our patients to each other when we cover our respective calls. Sometimes when rounding I check on 5-10 of their patients, some of which are their...
How to Avoid Common Mistakes When Coding Hand Procedures AAOSNow – March 2019 by Sarah Wiskerchen and Raymond Janevicius, MD Billing for hand procedures is among the most complex types of orthopaedic coding. Here, we highlight eight frequently encountered errors when coding hand procedures and how to fix them. Lack of specificity in documentation of tendon...
February 28, 2019 Question: My surgeon performed a repair of a nonunion with bone graft harvested via a separate incision. The surgeon submitted CPT code 25431 alone. I added CPT code 20902 after reviewing the operative note, because the surgeon obtained the bone graft from a distant site via a separate incision. My surgeon disagrees...
February 14, 2019 Question: We had a patient come into our office to have their sutures removed from a hand laceration repaired by someone else. The patient was hurt while out of state on vacation and couldn’t have the sutures removed while away; the original provider performed a layered repair. The problem is the patient...
January 31, 2019 Question: We have a non-Medicare patient that brings in her own Viscosupplement drug that she purchases through her drug plan at an outside pharmacy. We know we cannot bill the drug to the private payors, but want to make sure we are able to report the injection code. Answer: First, please verify...
