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As COVID vaccines roll out, practices wait — and advocate — to get shots for their staff

01/25/2021

As COVID-19 vaccines slowly make their way into the health care system, practices are waiting — and in some cases pushing — to get supplies for their staff to reduce risk to their patients.

2021 E/M changes: Same-day visits and procedures can’t have overlapping time

01/25/2021

by: Laura Evans, CPC

When it’s warranted to separately report an office visit at the same encounter as a procedure, clinicians will need to carefully distinguish the two services as distinct in their documentation, according to AMA coding officials.

Rule speeds approvals for ‘breakthrough’ devices, other commercially covered services

01/25/2021

by: Roy Edroso

A new final rule will allow items and services to gain approval for Medicare reimbursement more quickly than in the past, particularly medical devices that clear a specific FDA hurdle. But the devil is in the details, and the rule’s finer points will be ironed out in sub-regulatory guidance.

You should report encounters at the ‘drive-in’ site as a face-to-face visit

01/25/2021

by: Julia Kyles, CPC

Question: We have patients who can’t take part in an audio/visual telehealth visit, which is currently allowed under the COVID-19 rules. We understand we can report telephone-only visits, but the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) requires a real-time, two-way, audio/visual encounter when the doctor or treating practitioner writes a prescription for a controlled substance.

If doctor dies before signing the note, bill with an explanation

01/25/2021

by: Roy Edroso

Question: One of our doctors failed to review and sign the encounter notes on some of his visits — and then, unfortunately, he passed away. Can we bill for the visits?

COVID-19 waivers will be in place until April, thanks to another PHE renewal

01/25/2021

by: Julia Kyles, CPC

Circle April 21 on your calendar. That’s the new expiration date for the declaration of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) that has been in place since the determination made by HHS Secretary Alex Azar on Jan. 31, 2020.

CCM expands again, as use spreads across a wide variety of specialties

01/25/2021

by: Roy Edroso

While it may be a common perception that chronic care management (CCM) services fall entirely under the primary care umbrella, the latest Medicare data show that the series of codes (99487, 99489, 99490-99491, G0506), are under use by a broad cross-section of specialties.

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