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When a doctor dies, mind patient records and act fast if heirs are unlicensed

10/12/2020

Question: If one of our physicians dies, what are we obliged to do besides notify the patients and invite them to transfer care to one of our other doctors?

How to report shared visit services using the 2021 E/M guidelines

10/12/2020

by: Sarah Gould

Question: During an office visit, a nurse reviews the patient’s medical history and a physician performs an examination in the presence of the nurse. If you adhere to the 2021 E/M guidelines and use time as the controlling factor for code selection, can you report one E/M code for these shared services?

AMA releases two COVID-19 and flu combo codes

10/12/2020

by: Richard Scott

You can add two new codes to your COVID-19 response kit, with the added bonus that the codes are applicable for seasonal flu testing as well.

Medicare Advantage enrollment balloons 44% in six years

10/12/2020

by: Roy Edroso

It’s still a traditional-Medicare world, but if trends continue, it won’t be for long.

As growth of NPs and PAs accelerates, expect practice duties to rise too

10/05/2020

by: Roy Edroso

The role of nurse practitioners (NP) and physician assistants (PA) is growing — but so is the shortage of physician health care providers. This is expected to lead to an expansion in the practice capabilities of these providers, and you’re likely to see some changes in their relationship with physicians.

Ahead of Oct. 1 start, master 2021 ICD-10-CM coding for nervous system conditions

10/05/2020

by: Sarah Gould

The fiscal year (FY) 2021 update to the ICD-10-CM code set includes 26 new codes for nervous system conditions, such as cerebellar ataxia, Dravet syndrome and cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) leaks.

Asymptomatic but wants a COVID test? Press for medical necessity in notes, use Z-code

10/05/2020

by: Roy Edroso

Question: My patient is visiting aged relatives and wants a COVID test before she goes to reduce the chance of infecting them. How should I code this? And will Medicare deny the charge for lack of medical necessity, as my patient lacks any symptoms?

In recent years, nurse practitioners gobble up shares of E/M office visit claims

10/05/2020

by: Richard Scott

The number of office E/M codes that nurse practitioners (NP) are reporting under Medicare Part B has been on a significant upswing in recent years. Total claims for their most-billed office code, 99214, are up 114% from 2014 to 2018.

Flu season plus COVID-19 ‘twindemic’ could get rough; push shots early and hard

09/28/2020

by: Roy Edroso

COVID-19 complicates your flu season immunization picture, but experts say it may become an opening that not only gets more patients interested in having their shots, but also gets them to receive other needed care.

Next NCCI edit update will revive thousands of code pairs, reset MUEs

09/28/2020

by: Julia Kyles, CPC

Prepare your practice: CMS will roll back many of the National Correct Coding Initiative (NCCI) edits that it temporarily extended during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) and add a few hundred more. But the latest quarterly update, effective Oct. 1, it doesn’t spell the end of all health emergency-related flexibilities.

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