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EXPAREL Use
August 6 , 2020 Question: What HCPCS codes can I report when the physician administers EXPAREL after the procedure in…
Hartmann or Partial Colectomy
August 6, 2020 Question: My surgeon performed all the components of a Hartmann procedure 44143 but did not create a…
Billing for Lesion Intervention Crossing Territories
August 6, 2020 Question: Our vascular surgeon documented a single intervention for a lesion that crosses the margin between the…
Significant Undermining of Free Flap Donor Site
August 6, 2020 Question: My doctor documents “significant undermining” to the free flap donor site (radial forearm) for an advancement…
Sphenopalatine Ganglion Block
August 6, 2020 Question: I cannot find a CPT code to report using a device to deliver medication through the…
Spine Fracture Repair and Decompression
August 6, 2020 Question: How do I code for repair of a C6-7 fracture/dislocation where I did a laminectomy for…
Chondroplasty after a Total Knee Arthroplasty
August 6, 2020 Question: I am new in orthopaedics and am reviewing an operative note. The patient had a total…
Cerumen Removal Code or an E/M Code?
August 6, 2020 Question: Our coder recently attended one of your coding courses and her takeaway was that it was…
New Patient Visit
July 23 , 2020 Question: Is this a new patient visit? I saw a new patient last week in the…
E/M 2021- Do I have to use the revised guidelines?
July 23, 2020 Question: I work with a sports surgeon and we see just a few Medicare patients. The surgeon…
Endoscopic Septoplasty
July 23, 2020 Question: When I do an endoscopic septoplasty would I report both 31231 (nasal endoscopy) and 30520 (septoplasty)?…
Angiogram Billing for All Vessels Viewed
July 23, 2020 Question: Can we bill for all vessels mentioned if they are documented within the angiogram? Answer: No.…
Carotid Artery Exploration with Free Flap to Oral Cavity
July 23, 2020 Question: Can we report 35701 for the carotid vessel exploration in the recipient site when doing a…
Acupuncture Coverage
July 23, 2020 Question: My practice has decided to do acupuncture in our office. Does Medicare pay for acupuncture in…
Removal of a Hemorrhagic Tumor
July 23, 2020 Question: I did a craniotomy for removal of a tumor but it had a hemorrhagic component to…
Using Modifier -22 for Adhesiolysis
July 23, 2020 Question: My provider indicated that it took her an additional 80 minutes during a surgery to perform…
Lymph Node Biopsy
July 9, 2020 Question: I took out 3 deep cervical nodes for biopsy on the left side. Can I bill…
Are Wound Vacs Separately Reportable?
July 9, 2020 Question: I’m a pediatric orthopedic surgeon. Some of my team are reporting the NPWT codes 97605 and…
Removal of sEEG Electrodes
July 9, 2020 Question: I placed subdural stereo-EEG electrodes for epilepsy monitoring. What is the code for removal of these…
Documenting Family History in New Visits
July 9, 2020 Question: I’ve heard that all you need to document for family history is the word “none”, and…
Soft Tissue Tumor Removal
July 9 , 2020 Question: My physician removed a soft tissue tumor on the patient’s foot measuring 1.2 cm. Documentation…
Botox and Image Guidance
July 9, 2020 Question: Code 64615 says bilateral for the injection of Botox for chronic migraine. Does that mean we…
Complex Closure of Free Flap Donor Site
July 9, 2020 Question: I did a right anterolateral thigh free flap and had to close the right thigh wound…
Billing for Vascular Access
July 9, 2020 Question: I’m new to vascular coding, can we bill for vascular access for a catheterization? The provider…
“Counting” Levels for Posterior Spinal Instrumentation
June 25, 2020 Question: When placing pedicle screws, do I bill per pedicle screw or per level? For example, pedicle…
Billing E/M Visits During the Global Period
June 25, 2020 Question: Can I bill for different diagnosis codes for conditions/problems when seeing a patient in the hospital…
Biopsy Diagnosis
June 25, 2020 Question: What is the appropriate diagnosis code to submit when I do a skin biopsy of the…
Blood Patch with Epidural
June 25, 2020 Question: My anesthesiologist had to perform a blood patch on a patient who received an epidural the…
Co-Surgery Due to Complex Procedure
June 25, 2020 Question: I have 2 vascular surgeons from the same practice that want to bill co-surgery for a…
Excision External Ear
June 25, 2020 Question: I did a partial excision of the left ear wedge with a layered closure. Can I…
Articles
Five Coding Tips for Dealing with Third-party Billing Entities
Five Coding Tips for Dealing with Third-party Billing Entities AAOSNow – February 2020 by Sarah Wiskerchen, MBA, CPC Whether due…
Prior Authorization Chaos is the New Normal for Spine Surgery
ORTHOWORLD – December 11, 2019 In 2017, the American Medical Association surveyed physicians across all specialties about the amount of…
All Work (RVUs) and No Pay?: Eight Questions to Ask the Hospital about Its Work RVU Compensation Formula
GreenBranch.Com – Jan/Feb 2013 by Sarah Wiskerchen As more surgeons and specialists are offered hospital employment, work RVU-based compensation agreements…
Therapy Billing: Be Sure Your Team Is Doing Things Right
Therapy Billing: Be Sure Your Team Is Doing Things Right AAOSNow – October 2019 by Sarah Wiskerchen, MBA, CPC Many…
Coding Errors Can Cost You Money and Potentially a Sale
Coding Errors Can Cost You Money and Potentially a Sale Healio Orthopedics – October 2019 by Karen Zupko As more…
4 Reasons You Should Prepare a Physician Rights and Responsibilities Document
4 Reasons You Should Prepare a Physician Rights and Responsibilities Document Physicians Practice – September 2019 by Karen Zupko It’s…
7 Things to Include in Your Practice's Governance Agreement
7 Things to Include in Your Practice’s Governance Agreement Physicians Practice – September 2019 by Karen Zupko and Michael R.…
How to Bill and Get Paid for Unlisted Procedures
How to Bill and Get Paid for Unlisted Procedures AAOSNow – September 2019 by Cheryl Toth Orthopaedic surgeons often perform…
5 Questions Every Older Physician Should Ask Themselves
5 Questions Every Older Physician Should Ask Themselves Physicians Practice – August 2019 by Karen Zupko 1. Realistically, how long…
Does My Documentation Tell the Story in Critical Care?
Does My Documentation Tell the Story in Critical Care? SCCM Critical Connections – August 2019 by Deborah Grider The initial and…
Does Your Practice Treat Pain?
Does Your Practice Treat Pain? AAOSNow – August 2019 by Cheryl Toth Interventional pain management is a growing specialty, and…
Practice Acquisition: How to be Easy to Do Business With
Practice Acquisition: How to be Easy to Do Business With Healio Orthopedics – August 2019 by Karen Zupko When was…
Seven Common Questions in Foot and Ankle Coding
AAOS Now – July 2019 by Sarah Wiskerchen A previous article published in AAOS Now (“How to Avoid Common Mistakes…
Four Proven Post-Consult Follow Up Techniques
Aesthetic Society News – Summer 2019 by Karen Zupko Turning callers and prospects into scheduled consults is a subject that…
5 Questions to Ask About wRVU Compensation
Physicians Practice – June 2019 by Amy Boyer, MBA Physicians employed by a medical group, hospital or academic institution are…
Develop a Data and Device Destruction Policy in Five Easy Steps
Develop a Data and Device Destruction Policy in Five Easy Steps American Association for Physician Leadership – June 2019 by…
Tips and Best Practices for Using Code-X
Tips and Best Practices for Using Code-X AAOS Now – June 2019 by Cheryl Toth After speaking with Michael Marks,…
Get Your House in Order: Prepare for Private Equity Acquisition
Orthopaedics Today – May 2019 by Wathen Strong With ever-increasing amounts of private equity flowing into health care, orthopedic surgeons are…
Clean Up the A/R Before Putting the Practice on the Market
Clean Up the A/R Before Putting the Practice on the Market Physicians Practice – May 2019 by Cheyenne Brinson Thinking…
Coding Experts Weigh in on the Value of Code-X
Coding Experts Weigh in on the Value of Code-X AAOS Now – May 2019 by Cheryl Toth If you are…
NEW: Solve Your Practice Pain Points with Practice Solutions Online
NEW: Solve Your Practice Pain Points with Practice Solutions Online Aesthetic Society News – Spring 2019 by Cheryl Toth Is…
Strategies and Scripts for 4 Common Objections
Strategies and Scripts for 4 Common Objections Aesthetic Society News – Spring 2019 by Karen Zupko After decades of educating…
Cost Saving Strategies to Save Your Practice Money
Cost Saving Strategies to Save Your Practice Money Doctors Direct Insurance – Winter 2013 by Cheyenne Brinson Like most practices,…
7 Ways to Modernize Business Writing Mechanics
7 Ways to Modernize Business Writing Mechanics Medical Office Manager – 2019 by Cheryl Toth You don’t need a degree…
Four Tips for Avoiding Data Breaches
Four Tips for Avoiding Data Breaches AAOSNow – April 2019 by Michael R. Marks, MD According to a new report by Radware,…
Selling your practice? Clean up the coding first.
Selling your practice? Clean up the coding first. Physicians Practice Pearls – March 2019 by Karen Zupko As more and…
Anatomy of a Lessons Learned Summary
Anatomy of a Lessons Learned Summary Medical Office Manager – March 2019 by Cheryl Toth What do you call the…
Do Your Cybersecurity Policies Need a Checkup?
Do Your Cybersecurity Polices Need a Checkup? AAOSNow – March 2019 by Michael R. Marks, MD When was the last time…
5 Tips to Boost Efficiency for the Front Office
5 Tips to Boost Efficiency for the Front Office Medical Office Manager – March 2019 by Cheyenne Brinson The front office is…
