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Modifier XU with a Programming Code and Battery Change Code
January 23, 2020 Question: Our Medicare specialist has advised us to add modifier XU (modifier 59) to CPT code 95970…
Use of Cross Links with Posterior Instrumentation
January 9, 2020 Question: We have a new physician who has joined our practice and is documenting use of cross…
Diagnosis Code for “End of Life” DBS Battery
December 19, 2019 Question: What would be the appropriate diagnosis code (ICD-10-CM) for “end of life battery” when we have…
VP Shunt Reprogramming
December 5, 2019 Question: We had a patient show up in our office, after an MRI ordered by another physician,…
Shunt Revision
November 14, 2019 Question: I had to replace the ventricular catheter and the valve on a patient with a VP…
Augmentation of Pedicle Screws
October 31, 2019 Question: I injected cement into the pedicles to augment screws in a patient with osteoporosis. My coder…
T9-11 Epidural Tumor Removal
October 17, 2019 Question: I did bilateral laminectomies at T9, T10, T11 and removed an epidural tumor. I billed 63276-50,…
Artificial Cervical Disc Placement
October 3, 2019 Question: We are just starting to do these procedures and I want to get our coding sorted…
Intraoperative Testing of the IPG
September 19, 2019 Question: Can I code 95971 for intraoperative testing of the implantable pulse generator (IPG) when the spinal…
Multiple Laminectomies to Place a Spinal Cord Stimulator
September 5, 2019 Question: I billed 63655 (Laminectomy for implantation of neurostimulator electrodes, plate/paddle, epidural) twice because I did laminectomies…
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. …
Articles
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…
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…
