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For E/M visits, review 6 questions and answers to clarify the new data review rules

02/01/2021

Be careful about double counting tests and understand how to navigate labs and other test results as they pertain to the time and medical decision-making (MDM) elements of the revamped E/M office visit rules.

When furloughs are on the table: 6 strategies to put your employees first

02/01/2021

by: Roy Edroso

If you want to use employee furloughs to decrease payroll pressure during a difficult financial stretch, make sure you’re observing the law and making it easy and desirable for your employees to come back.

AMA announces new CPT code for Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine

02/01/2021

by: Sarah Gould

In preparation of a pending vaccine approval, the AMA recently added a new CPT code that will be used to report a COVID-19 vaccine candidate under development by Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a division of Johnson & Johnson.

Toe procedures clipped, pathology code biggest winner under revised 2021 fees

02/01/2021

by: Richard Scott

As the fee schedule shake-up settles down, you can officially welcome thousands of codes that are seeing pay gains into your daily routine. Leading the charge is molecular pathology interpretation service G0452, with a 143% year-to-year increase in non-facility fees.

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

01/25/2021

by: Roy Edroso

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.

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