Radiology Coding Alert

12 monthly issues / 8 or more pages per month / 12 months + member access to online archive + extras
Approved for 10 AAPC CEUs
ASIN: B00007B0ZS
Coding Institute / Eli Healthcare

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Receive all the reimbursement your radiology practice rightfully earns.

Ethically and easily increase your claims reimbursement without raising auditor "red flags". This monthly newsletter offers you the latest information and approaches to optimizing your radiology reimbursement. It covers detailed and up-to-date coding recommendations for procedures such as echo exam of abdomen, bone imaging, CAT scan of head or brain and much more. Compliance field tips and tools are also discussed in the newsletter.

To assist you in gaining an idea of the kind of coverage this newsletter provides, here are the topics covered in the June 2005 edition:

Identify SPECT with ease to cut down on denials; edit your SPECT coding; you no longer report 78472 with 78465; Medicare will reimburse you for the lesser-valued if you report both; don't report unperformed 78472 to justify 78496; first pass studies; using add-on codes, etc.
Watch for epidural bundles; NCCI does not allow 76005 with 72275; choose between these; guidances suggested.
Produce top-quality unlisted procedure claims; offer detailed description of procedure; include copies of medical journal articles; include medical necessity documentation; explain time, effort and equipment; submit patient's indications; describe follow-up and prognosis; relate procedure to existing procedure; demonstrate cost savings, etc.
Billing 73620 and 73630, consider views and units; minimum of views required for each; views do not equal units; append -LT and -RT correctly.
Per-lesion guidance; reporting one unit of 76942; if allowed per lesion, base on per lesion and not number of samples.
Ask payer before appending -58; second service staging or more extensive; subsequent procedure rules, CPT guidelines explained, etc.
Clip & Save Chart: Crosswalking PET conditions, G codes, CPT codes and ICD-9 Codes, details, guidance, CMS has traded G codes for 78811-78816; use this PET chart to stop denials; etc.
Reporting 77370 in special circumstances.
Ultrasound; using +76937 or +75998; NCCI had bundled these and then rescinded the bundle; tips for using codes correctly.
Diagnostic order exceptions; test design, error, patient condition, studies ordered by interventional radiologists who have assumed care; radiologist can decide the parameters, etc.
Cardiac CT and contrast; using 76497 covering EF and CT; American College of Radiology announced its opinion for computed tomographic, and other procedures.

The following experienced coders comprise the editorial board for this publication:

Richard Brebner, BS, RDMS, RDCA, RVT, PA
Deborah Churchill, RTT, CT
Gary Dorfman, MD, FACR, FSIR, Past Representative to the AMA CPT Advisory Committee, Past-President, Society of Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology
Ian Easton, PhD, FACMPE, Past-President, American College of Medical Practice Executives
Terry Fletcher, CPC, CCS-P, CCS, AAPC National Advisory Board Member
Jeff Fulkerson, BA, CPC, CMC, Department of Radiology, Emory Clinic, GA
Blake Johnson, MD, Director of CNS Imaging, MN
Janet McDiarmid, CMM, CPC, MPC, Past-President, AAPC, National Advisory Board
Cheryl Schad, BA, CPCM, CPC, NJ
Jim Stephenson, President, North Central Medical Management, OH
Paulette Stone, CPC, RCC, UT
Susan Turney, MD, FACP, Medical Director of Reimbursement, Marshfield Clinic, WI
Darlene Zase, BS, CMPE, Past-President, Radiology Assembly, MGMA, CT

Reading of this newsletter has been approved by the American Academy of Professional Coders for up to 10 CEUs. When you subscribe to this monthly print newsletter, you will also receive these extras:

member access to all archived editions of this publication online. This will allow you to search the database by keyword;
member access to coding discussion groups in your coding specialty. This allows you to ask advice in real time from others in your field.

The Coding Institute, located in Washington DC, is a fast-growing well-respected national medical newsletter publishing company catering to the needs of physicians, hospitals, and their medical practice staff. When you subscribe to this publication, you will be part of an exciting nationwide group of coders, office managers, experts and consultants all interested in enhancing their coding and reimbursement knowledge. The Coding Institute is part of Eli Research. Eli Research is a research and information company with over 60 publications serving core markets of health care, law and financial services. They currently serve a reader base of over 100,000 business executives nationwide, 80 percent of whom are top officers at their respective companies. Their roots go back to 1947 with the founding of Medicine and Health -- the oldest health policy newsletter in the country. They acquired the Washington DC-based Health Care Information Center, including Medicine and Health and 30 other titles formerly published by Faulkner and Gray. They have focused exclusively on providing high-quality news and analysis for professionals who need critical news and information to survive and prosper. They have distinguished themselves from other publishers by providing intelligent analysis of new strategies, rather than simply reporting on industry development.

Receive all the reimbursement your radiology practice rightfully earns.

Please remember that the government no longer allows a grace period for annual code sets. The new HIPAA Transaction and Code Set Rule requires providers to use national medical code sets that are valid at the time that a service is provided. ICD-9-CM code revisions become effective October 1st each year while CPT and HCPCS code revisions become effective January 1st. In order for you to meet this requirement, you must have the revised CPT, HCPCS, and ICD-9-CM codes in your possession before the implementation dates. The best way to do this is to order your code books early. See more coding resources here.

(information from the publisher)

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