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03/25/2019

Question: My pain management practice is using two forms of risk assessment questioning for our pain management patients -- one cpmputer-based, one on paper. However, the 2019 codes are completely different tham what we were using. How do we code them now?

03/25/2019

Various specialties tend to generate different amounts of work relative value units (RVUs) under CMS’ current pricing system, and those differences are tied to payment chasms, a March 15 report from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) states.

03/18/2019
Question: My pain management practice is using two forms of risk assessment questioning for our pain management patients. One is computer-based with staff assistance. The other is done on paper and interpreted by the provider. We were using 96103 (Psychological testing [includes psychodiagnostic assessment of emotionality, intellectual abilities, personality and psychopathology, eg, MMPI], administered by a computer, with qualified health care professional interpretation and report) for the computerized risk assessment. However, the 2019 codes are completely different. Can we code 96146 (Psychological or neuropsychological test administration, with single automated, standardized instrument via electronic platform, with automated result only) for the automated testing and scoring and 96160 (Administration of patient-focused health risk assessment instrument [eg, health hazard appraisal] with scoring and documentation, per standardized instrument) for the paper risk assessment that is scored by the provider?
03/18/2019
Take a deep cut into the Correct Coding Initiative (CCI) version 25.1 edits and you’ll glean several hundred pending code bundles that will wrap up various lesion-removal services as well as a wholesale update to a single irrigation-of-device code.
03/18/2019
Gaps in mobile security remain a threat to your protected health information (PHI) and leave you vulnerable to HIPAA violations, so train and, if necessary, restrain employees to reduce the risk.
03/18/2019
Electronic aids that review what’s in a patient’s electronic health record (EHR) and give prompts for how to code for the services can be useful. But if you blindly follow those suggestions you can end up billing incorrectly and in legal hot water.
03/18/2019
Question: At the doctor’s office where I work, the patients are often the friends or family members of staff members who assist with the exams. Yesterday, a coworker and I were preparing the charts for the day with our assigned doctor, and my coworker, Jane, told me that one of the patients we were seeing that day was the boyfriend of another coworker, Jill. Later, I happened to be having lunch with Jill in our break room, and she was talking about her boyfriend. I mentioned to her that Jane told me Jill’s boyfriend was coming in for his appointment and asked if Jill was planning on assisting his doctor during the exam. Jill was furious at Jane’s disclosure and said that she would be filing a formal complaint regarding a HIPAA violation. Is this really a HIPAA violation? Could my job really be in jeopardy?
03/18/2019
Q: What is the difference between the two types of Remittance Advice Remark Codes (RARC)?
03/18/2019
X modifiers, introduced in 2015 as alternatives to 59 (Distinct procedural service), have been used successfully in many cases despite CMS’ lack of guidance or support for them (PBN 3/11/19). But be aware that not every code combo with an X modifier brings success.
03/11/2019

As practices up their involvement in providing advance care planning (ACP) services for patients, one federal watchdog is asking a critical question: Are the patients’ forms, and thus their end-of-life wishes, being stored in an accessible, easy-to-share location?

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