Here is what you should check in your physician’s documentation.
As the conversion takes place from ICD-9 to ICD-10 in 2013, you will not be treating the codes in a way you always did. Often, you will have more options that may need tweaking the way …
ICD-9 2011 and ICD-10 2011 both have coding options for a malignant neoplasm of the main bronchus. Both indicate that the codes are appropriate for malignant neoplasms of the carina or hilus of lung.
What’s different: ICD-9 2011 includes simply 162.2…
New CPT to ICD-9 ‘cross walk’ tool is available to members Nov. 1.
We’ve had so many requests for a CPT to ICD-9 “cross walk” that we moved up our implementation date for this popular denial combating tool to Nov. 1. Advantage members will be able to access the feature under Tools.
Coders are working weekends to bring to you live on Nov. 1, the surgical CPT procedure code to ICD-9-CM CrossRef. By Dec. 1, SuperCoder CPT to ICD-9-CM CrossRef will also include CPT radiology, pathology, and medicine codes. “The CrossRef lets a coder look up a surgical CPT procedure code and see which ICD-9 diagnosis codes Medicare and private payer allow,” explains Jen Godreau, CPC, CPEDC, content director for SuperCoder.com.
Denials for mismatched CPT and ICD-9 codes cost practices thousands of dollars every year. SuperCoder CrossRef will help you ensure your links are correct helping you further reduce your denials rate. Plus, more code details and pictures will improve your coding accuracy.
Lay Terms, Illustrations Help You Understand CPT Codes
Starting Nov. 1, SuperCoder.com will put more accurate coding at your fingertips with Lay Terms for every CPT code for eight major specialties. SuperCoder Codesets & Tools and Advantage members should look for this feature plus visually helpful anatomical illustrations under Code Details. No more guessing what your physician’s doing — anatomical illustrations in code details for CPT procedural cardiology, family practice, gastroenterology, general surgery, ophthalmology, orthopedics, otolaryngology, and pediatrics will put a face with the procedure to make selecting the correct code even easier.
We’ve heard your frustrations on SuperCoder’s slow speed. Our IT is having hardware rushed in. Starting next week, you’ll notice faster searching — the improvements will continue weekly.
You can sit back and enjoy the fall foliage spectacle — SuperCoder.com’s got your ICD-9-CM 2011, National Correct Coding Initiative 16.3, and October Medicare Physician Fee Schedule medical coding updates covered.
Go ahead and search for th…
Align ‘medical necessity’ with ICD-9 instruction.
Ordering a human papillomavirus (HPV) screen with a Pap test isn’t the same as ordering a reflex HPV screen following an abnormal Pap. Although ICD-9 instruction and coverage rules might appear to be at loggerheads, our experts can show you the way out.
Question: Should the physician order a screening and/or reflex HPV Pap test (such as 87621, Infectious agent detection by nucleic acid [DNA or RNA]; papillomavirus, human, amplified probe technique) with V73.81 (Special screening examination for human papillomavirus [HPV])?
What you stand to gain: “Many ‘V’ codes are paid as part of a screening benefit for patients who have those specific benefits,” says Tina Burkhalter, billing manager with SouthEastern Pathology in Rome, Ga. On the other hand,
“tests ordered with diagnostic codes tend to go to the deductible,” she says. “We hear from patients complaining that they must pay for the HPV test because their insurer tells them we used the ‘wrong’ code.”
Medical Necessity Points to 795.0x
Although no national coverage policy exists for screening HPV testing to evaluate cervical cancer risk, many payers follow the consensus guidelines recommended by the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (ASCCP).
A core ASCCP recommendation is to screen for high-risk HPV DNA in patients over the age of 20 years with a Pap cytologic result of 795.01 (Papanicolaou smear of cervix with atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance [ASC-US]). The guidelines also address the role of HPV with other Pap outcomes in special populations, such as recommending reflex HPV testing for postmenopausal women with cytologic findings of 795.03 (Papanicolaou smear of cervix with low grade squamous intraepithelial lesion [LGSIL]).
Key: If your payers have adopted any or all of these guidelines, you’ll need to report the Pap findings, such as 795.01, to show…
You’ll turn to a V code when your neurologist reports ‘no effects,’ however.
When your neurologist sees a patient who had a stroke, either recently or in the distant past, he may record a number of different conditions — which makes your job more difficult. If you remember a few guidelines, you’ll select the proper ICD-9 codes for every cerebrovascular accident (CVA) case your neurologist treats.
Get Specific With 2 CVA Diagnosis Codes
When your neurologist sees a patient who has had a stroke, or CVA, he may document multiple deficiencies, both new and lingering. When the patient presents with…
Don’t be caught asleep: Patient history is one element of proper Dx coding.
Many coders hesitate to report V codes, or simply use them incorrectly, but sometimes this section of ICD-9 most accurately describes the reason for the patient’s condition….
Get ready for the dawn of new jaw pain, BMI codes, among others.
If you’ve got high hopes that you’ll benefit from many new ICD-9 codes starting this fall, CMS delivers, with over 130 new diagnosis codes debuting on Oct….
Question: Our hospital billing and medical departments say that diagnoses we add to a claim for reimbursement must have a physician endorsement. We’ve researched our Local Coverage Determination (L26884) from National Government Services, the Ingenix Coding & Payment Guide for…
Wrap your brain around using letters in your diagnosis codes.
If you aren’t curious about how the ICD-9 codes crosswalk to ICD-10, maybe you should be.
“The transition date for ICD-10 codes is Oct 1, 2013,” stressed CMS’s Stewart Streimer…