You probably prefer to spend less time documenting a patient visit and more time actually interacting with the patient, right? If so, you may want to consider hiring a scribe.
Coding Education at the Annual Meeting
The Certified Rheumatology Coding Course and Exam will be available November 6–7 during the ACR/ ARHP Annual Scientific Meeting in Atlanta. This educational session is designed to increase knowledge of coding and billing compliance for physicians, fellows-in-training, practice managers, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and coders/billers in rheumatology practices.
Your Coders Are as Good as Their Coding Tools
Are your coders equipped with the latest coding information? Every year there are changes to the diagnoses and procedure codes, whether this is deletion or newly created codes. Along with coding updates, insurance carriers frequently adjust, delete, or create medical policies to reflect updates to procedures or diagnose codes.
What is ICD-9 Coding?
The International Classification of Diseases Clinical Modification, 9th Revision (ICD-9 CM) is a list of codes intended for the classification of diseases and a wide variety of signs, symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances, and external causes of injury or disease. The numerical format of the diagnosis codes usually ranges from three to five digits that are assigned to a unique category.
Coding Corner Question
August’s Coding Challenge
Coding Corner Answer
August’s Coding Answer
ALERT: 2010 ICD-9-CM/CPT Code Changes
As of January 1, physicians can no longer bill the inpatient/outpatient consultation evaluation and management (E/M) codes for Medicare patients. E/M codes for new or established patients should be used as appropriate.
ALERT: 2010 ICD-9-CM/CPT Code Changes
As of January 1, physicians can no longer bill the inpatient/outpatient consultation evaluation and management (E/M) codes for Medicare patients. E/M codes for new or established patients should be used as appropriate.
Doctor or Accountant?
Complex coding and reimbursement rules can detract from patient care
Free Certified Education Units (CEUs) for Coders
In these hard economic times, it is good to have access to free educational tools that coders can use to maintain their certification. If you or your coders are certified with the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC), there are some helpful avenues to getting free CEUs.