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10/28/2019
Question: Say a doctor sees a diabetic patient, notes blood sugar and increases the insulin dose. The chart includes diagnosis codes for diabetes mellitus (DM) with nephropathy (E11.21) and polyneuropathy (E11.42), but the notes do not otherwise address the polyneuropathy and nephropathy. For risk adjustment purposes, would this map to hierarchical condition category (HCC) 18 (Diabetes with chronic complications) or to HCC 19 (Diabetes without complication)? And if the nephropathy and polyneuropathy are not addressed in encounters, would the patient map to HCC 19, notwithstanding that he was diagnosed with them?
10/28/2019
Question: I saw a recent policy update from CMS about teaching physicians performing E/M services but I can’t understand what it means. Please help!
10/28/2019

You may guess that 25 (Significant, separately identifiable E/M service) and 59 (Distinct procedural service) would be the most-used modifiers in Medicare Part B, but according to the latest figures they’re only #8 and #14, respectively.
 

10/21/2019
Work a few key measures into your coding routine when reporting E/M services and add-on psychotherapy codes, such as focusing on your distinct therapy time, to sharpen your claims reporting for a trio of oft-reported codes.
10/21/2019

Medicare won’t pay, but consultation codes can still be part of your tool kit if you have the right private payers and know how to use them. 

10/21/2019
As part of an effort entitled the Regulatory Sprint to Coordinated Care, CMS and OIG released advance copies of proposed regulatory changes on Oct. 9. The proposed rules would modify regulations that have presented obstacles to physicians, hospitals and other providers as they transition away from traditional fee-for-service (FFS) payment models toward value-based arrangements.
10/21/2019
Coders should be in the know about CPT codes 99091, 99453, 99454 and 99457 and the changes occurring in the growing realm of remote patient monitoring (RPM) services.
10/21/2019
Work a few key measures into your coding routine when reporting E/M services and add-on psychotherapy codes, such as focusing on your distinct therapy time, to sharpen your claims reporting for a trio of oft-reported codes.
10/21/2019
Update your annual flu forecast: Influenza immunization codes and payment allowances are now available under Medicare, and providers and health experts are offering forecasts on the severity — or the mildness — of the 2019-2020 flu season in the U.S.
10/21/2019
When reporting a series of oft-used psychotherapy services (90832-90838), providers tend to stick to a pattern of long-duration standalone codes and shorter-duration add-on codes.

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