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Vertebral Augmentation Coding
August 22, 2019 Question: Is it ever appropriate to bill 22513 with 3 units? Answer: CPT 22513 states Percutaneous vertebral…
Use of a Scribe
August 8, 2019 Question: We are hiring a scribe for the doctor because it will help improve his documentation. Is…
DBS Battery Replacement
July 25, 2019 Question: When our doctors replace a DBS generator because the battery is depleted and they reprogram at…
Billing for Hospital NP/PA Consults
July 11, 2019 Question: I heard you speak at the recent AANS coding course – you were awesome and the…
Prescription Refill Visits
June 20, 2019 Question: We get calls from patients to renew their medications. When the patient comes to office to…
Intraoperative Ultrasound for Tumor Removal
June 6, 2019 Question: My surgeon uses the intraoperative ultrasound to assist with a brain tumor removal. I am billing…
Coding for Platelet-Rich Plasma Injections in the Spine
May 23, 2019 Question: We are starting to do platelet-rich plasma injections in the spine. Would we bill 64483? Answer:…
Diagnosis Coding for Foraminal Stenosis
May 9, 2019 Question: I have a question regarding one of your previous Coding Coach Q&As that I recently saw.…
Diagnosis Code Incompatibility
April 11, 2019 Question: We are being told by our billing service that “CPT 22551 as the procedure/diagnosis code combination…
Skull Base Surgery
March 28, 2019 Question: My neurosurgeon did a craniotomy with removal of a frontotemporal meningioma with stereotactic navigation and the…
Diagnosis Code for Post Op Visits
March 14, 2019 Question: What’s the best way to do the diagnosis coding for postop visits? I mean, does it…
Post Op Hemorrhage Repair: Is it Billable?
February 28, 2019 Question: Can I bill for taking the patient back to the OR to explore and repair post-op…
Documenting Codes in the Operative Note
February 14, 2019 Question: I’ve been dictating CPT codes in the operative note so that my coder knows what to…
Billing Fluoroscopy with Spine Procedures
January 31, 2019 Question: Is there ever a situation where it would be appropriate to bill 76000, or any other…
Re-Do Discectomy
January 17, 2019 Question: Hello Kim! Could please help me verify the best code to use? This op note states…
Removal of Lumbar Drain
December 13, 2018 Question: I received a call from one of our PAs regarding the removal of a lumbar drain…
Laminectomies at Separate Spinal Regions
November 29, 2018 Question: Quick question, if one of our doctors did a laminectomy facetectomy at L3-L4 and then through…
Cervico-cerebral Imaging Codes
November 15, 2018 Question: What’s not included in the diagnostic cervico-cerebral imaging codes and can be reported separately? Answer: The…
Payment for 20930/20936
November 1, 2018 Question: Will payors reimburse 20930 or 20936? Answer: Yes! Payment depends on the specific payor and plan. …
Vasospasm Treatment with Aneurysm Coiling
October 18, 2018 Question: Can you bill for treatment of vasospasm (61650) when also treating the same vascular territory you…
Modifier 22
October 4, 2018 Question: My neurosurgeon just came back from surgery – he had a really bad day. He wants…
Postop Consult
September 20, 2018 Question: If a rehab facility I have privileges at consults me for a postop patient in postop…
Diagnosis Coding for Hydrocephalus
September 6, 2018 Question: What is the ICD-10-CM code for hydrocephalus following an intraventricular hemorrhage? Answer: That depends on how…
Coding Twist Drill Ventriculostomy with Craniotomy/Craniectomy
August 23, 2018 Question: When is it ok to unbundle 61107 from the craniotomy/craniectomy code? Answer: It is acceptable to…
Refresh your Referral Building
Physicians Practice – August 22, 2018 by Karen Zupko Years ago, a “good referral” was described using the Three A’s…
Microscope with Carotid Endarterectomy
August 9, 2018 Question: Can we code the microscope (69990) with 35301, carotid endarterectomy? Answer: CPT does not list 35301…
When is it OK to “Unbundle” 22845 from 22853?
July 26, 2018 Question: When is it acceptable to use modifier 59 on 22845 to unbundle it from 22853? Answer:…
Bundling of +22845 with +22853
July 12, 2018 Question: How do we avoid non-payment for 22845 with 22853? Answer: Good question! Medicare instituted a National…
Microscope with 63030 Issues
June 28, 2018 Question: Why do some insurance companies pay for the microscope (+69990) when we bill it for a…
Articles
Stay Current with Spine Procedural Coding
AAPC News – May 2017 by Kim Pollock, RN, MBA, CPC, CMDP See how spine procedure codes, guidelines, and reporting have…
2017 Spine CPT Code Changes
AAOS Now – November 2016 by Kim Pollock, RN, MBA, CPC, CMDP Spine surgeons face a multitude of Current Procedural…
Spine Practices May Lose Money When They Do Not Bill for Consults
Healio- October 2016 by Kim Pollock, RN, MBA, CPC, CMDP and Teri Romano, BSN, MBA, CPC, CMDP Medicare eliminated payment…
Spine Surgery Quandary: Posterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion
Healthcare Business Monthly – June 2016 by Kim Pollock, RN, MBA, CPC, CMDP When do you bill 63056-59 with 22633,…
Follow an eight-step formula for correct spine coding
Spine Surgery Today, September/October 2014 Teri Romano, BSN, MBA, CPC, CMDP, and Kim Pollock, RN, MBA, CPC Reporting the “just…
Follow an Eight-Step Formula for Correct Spine Coding
Follow an Eight-Step Formula for Correct Spine Coding – September/October 2014 by Teri Romano, BSN, MBA, CPC, CMDP and Kim Pollock,…
Procedure Coding Made Simple: Five Principles Will Help You Capture Appropriate Charges for Spine Surgeries
Procedure Coding Made Simple: Five Principles Will Help You Capture Appropriate Charges for Spine Surgeries – September 2013 by Kim Pollock, RN,…
Coding For Same Day Anterior-Posterior Spine Procedures: Four Myths Clarified
Coding For Same Day Anterior-Posterior Spine Procedures: Four Myths Clarified – November / December 2012 by Kim Pollock, RN, MBA, CPC, CMDP…
