Click here for more sample CPC practice exam questions with Full Rationale Answers

Practice Exam

Click here for more sample CPC practice exam questions and answers with full rationale

Practice Exam

CPC Practice Exam and Study Guide Package

Practice Exam

What makes a good CPC Practice Exam? Questions and Answers with Full Rationale

CPC Exam Review Video

Laureen shows you her proprietary “Bubbling and Highlighting Technique”

Download your Free copy of my "Medical Coding From Home Ebook" at the top right corner of this page

Practice Exam

2018 CPC Practice Exam Answer Key 150 Questions With Full Rationale (HCPCS, ICD-9-CM, ICD-10, CPT Codes) Click here for more sample CPC practice exam questions with Full Rationale Answers

Practice Exam

Click here for more sample CPC practice exam questions and answers with full rationale

Skin Substitute Manufacturers Fail to Consistently Report Prices

Noncompliance costs Medicare and its beneficiaries millions of dollars. Despite legislative requirements, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) reported that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) was unable to accurately calculate third-quarter 2022 skin substitute payment amounts because average sales prices (ASPs) were reported for only 16 of 68 billing codes. Consequently, Medicare […]

The post Skin Substitute Manufacturers Fail to Consistently Report Prices appeared first on AAPC Knowledge Center.

AAPC Knowledge Center

Update Your Skin Substitute Code List for 2023

Four new HCPCS Level II codes are payable under Medicare. The terminology to describe skin substitute products and the Medicare payment methodology did not change this year, but there are four new HCPCS Level II codes to add to your billing system. The new codes, effective Jan. 1, 2023, describe various manufactured allograft products used […]

The post Update Your Skin Substitute Code List for 2023 appeared first on AAPC Knowledge Center.

AAPC Knowledge Center

Explore Coding Complexities of Skin Procedures

Part 1: Consider skin lesion removal type and depth, intent, and lesion location to avoid common coding mistakes. Accurately coding dermatological procedures can seem like a daunting task. Code selection can be confusing because skin procedure codes require you to consider several factors such as the type of removal, lesion size and location, pathologic results, […]

The post Explore Coding Complexities of Skin Procedures appeared first on AAPC Knowledge Center.

AAPC Knowledge Center

Excision of Benign or Malignant Skin Lesion

To select an appropriate code for excision of a benign (11400-11471) or malignant (11600-11646) skin lesion, you must determine the lesion’s diameter at its widest point, and add double the width of the narrowest margin (the portion of healthy tissue around the lesion also excised). In the interest of both clinical and coding accuracy, providers should […]

The post Excision of Benign or Malignant Skin Lesion appeared first on AAPC Knowledge Center.

AAPC Knowledge Center

RT below-knee amputation stump wound/ulcer skin procedure

In need of some skin wound expertise help, trying to make sure the correct codes are being captured based on the documentation, coworker and I feel the closes to this would be CPT code 11042/15999, I would really appreciate your help :)

PREOPERATIVE DIAGNOSIS:
Right below-knee amputation stump ulcer.
POSTOPERATIVE DIAGNOSIS:
Right below-knee amputation stump ulcer.
PROCEDURE PERFORMED:
Right below-knee amputation stump wound revision.
ANESTHESIA:
General with Dr. English.
ESTIMATED BLOOD LOSS:
5 cc.
FINDINGS:
Benign-appearing ulcer at the BKA stump. It was excised, debrided, and closed
primarily.
DETAILS OF THE PROCEDURE:
The patient is a 68-year-old female with prior below-knee amputation, developed
a necrotic wound and ulcer. She was consented for surgery, brought to OR in
supine position, sedated, and intubated without complication. Time-out per
protocol. Preoperative antibiotics given. The right BKA stump was prepped and
draped in the usual sterile fashion. A sharp dissection was used to excise the
tissue around that area and debrided down to healthy bleeding normal tissue.
Then, I proceeded to excise the ulcer itself and down to subcu and muscle and
fat were well-perfused tissue. Then, the wound was widened to create an
ellipse and close primarily with 2-0 nylon in an interrupted fashion. The
patient tolerated the procedure well, and she was extubated and returned to
PACU with vital signs stable.

Medical Billing and Coding Forum

Enlarging skin lesion/cyst diagnosis

What 2ndary code on the LCD covers "enlarging?"

Our provider excised a sebaceous cyst that was growing, no other complications. Medicare requires a 2nd dx to justify the reason for removal. "Enlarging" is listed on the indications for removal, I just can’t pair up an appropriate dx that is covered from the LCD. I originally used L98.9 (Disorder of the skin and subcutaneous tissue, unspecified) but the scrubber kicked it back stating this dx was not on the LCD list. I have exhausted all efforts, HELP!!!

Thank you!!

Medical Billing and Coding Forum

Enlarging skin lesion/cyst diagnosis

What 2ndary code on the LCD covers "enlarging?"

Our provider excised a sebaceous cyst that was growing, no other complications. Medicare requires a 2nd dx to justify the reason for removal. "Enlarging" is listed on the indications for removal, I just can’t pair up an appropriate dx that is covered from the LCD. I originally used L98.9 (Disorder of the skin and subcutaneous tissue, unspecified) but the scrubber kicked it back stating this dx was not on the LCD list. I have exhausted all efforts, HELP!!!

Thank you!!

Medical Billing and Coding Forum

Need Help with Skin Graft/Transfer codes

Greetings all! Would really appreciate some help with skin graft codes. Patient had a right middle finger mass. Our hand surgeon did this procedure and I’ve got little to no experience coding skin grafting procedures. Here’s a snippet of the work done-

…a 2cm X 2cm rhomboid excision of the mass. I had pretty good borders and felt that I was at least 2 mm or greater away from the mass itself. It did not seem to invade into the extensor tendon. I kept the peritenon of the tendon intact. I excised and tagged the distal and long and the radial and short. I sent it off for pathology. I then performed a rhomboid flap. However, the rhomboid flap did not mobilize as much as I wanted to. Skin was pretty nonmobile at that point. I mobilized it as much as I could. A 5-0 nylon secured it. At that point, I saw a deficit of about 15mm X 30mm. I felt that I needed to go ahead and get a full-thickness skin graft…I incised the full-thickness skin graft measuring 2cm X 30mm. At that point, I then defatted the skin graft. I in-set it into the finger. I used 5-0 nylon to secure it. Prior to the in-set of it, I released the tourniquet to make sure I had controlled all the bleeders.
At that point, I then fashioned the skin graft to fit the defect which was 50mm X 30mm. ..I then placed a bolster dressing over the skin graft with cotton balls, mineral oil and Xeroform etc.
I chose ‘excisional biopsy of right middle finger mass- 26111, but just not sure about the skin transfer (less than 10 cm2) and the Application of full-thickness skin graft measuring 20mm X 1.5mm X 30 mm.

Anybody who would be willing to get me in the right direction would be my hero:o

Medical Billing and Coding Forum

Scissor snip biopsy or removal, multiple specimens, path is not skin tag.

Hello,
Our staff comes across this type of note daily, and would like some clarification on what is the proper way to bill this scenario?
Thank you in advance.

Note copied below:
Dx given in note as D49.2 and skin tags.

Scissor Snip biopsy
Left axilla x4, Right axilla x3, Groin IFEP. The area was prepped with an alcohol pad, then 1% Lidocaine with epinephrine was injected around the site(s), Scissors and pickups were used to excise the lesion at the skin surface, Monsel’s solution was applied to obtain hemostasis. The patient is instructed to notify the office if the wound site oozes, becomes painful or red. The biopsy specimen was sent to the laboratory for pathological evaluation. Left axilla x4, Right axilla x3, Groin x1

(Path came back as Groin and Left axilla as warts, and the right axilla skin tag.)

Medical Billing and Coding Forum

Suturing of skin following amputation

So this is a new one for me. We had a patient come in immediately following an amputation of his thumb by a power tool. The amputation was complete and my physician sutured the skin together to "close the amputation site." Patient did not want his amputated part re-attached. Thoughts on how to properly bill the work my physician did?

HPI:
*
Patient is a 62 year old male here after cutting off part of thumb.
*
Left thumb amputation
– was cutting fire wood this morning with large axe
– leg bumped the handle and it chopped his left thumb off
– finished feeding the animals
– found thumb in snow, put it in bag with ice
– lives an hour out of town in Imnaha
– put some towels on it
– can still feel everything and move thumb around
– does sculpt, make handmade saddles
– right handed
*
Review of Systems
Constitutional: Negative for chills and fever.
Neurological: Negative for dizziness and tingling.
*
Patient Active Problem List
Diagnosis
• Ankylosing spondylitis of multiple sites in spine (HCC-CMS)
*
Current Outpatient Prescriptions
Medication Sig Dispense Refill
• cephalexin (KEFLEX) 500 mg capsule Take 1 Cap by mouth 4 (four) times daily for 5 days 20 Cap 0
• oxyCODONE-acetaminophen (PERCOCET) 5-325 mg per tablet Take 1 Tab by mouth every 8 (eight) hours as needed for pain 15 Tab 0
• prednisoLONE acetate (PRED FORTE) 1 % ophthalmic suspension Place 1 Drop into the right eye 4 (four) times daily 10 mL 2
*
Current Facility-Administered Medications
Medication Dose Route Frequency Provider Last Rate Last Dose
• cefTRIAXone 1 g injection 1 g intramuscular Once Katie Putnam, MD

*
*
Objective

*
Vitals
Vitals:
* 02/19/19 0820
Pulse: 76
SpO2: 95%
Weight: 202 lb (91.6 kg)
Height: 6′ (1.829 m)

Last 3 Vitals
Office Visit from 2/19/2019
Temp — 97.7 °F (36.5 °C) 98 °F (36.7 °C)
Pulse 76 75 56
BP — — 147/76
Resp — 16 14
Weight 202 lb (91.6 kg) 196 lb (88.9 kg) 189 lb (85.7 kg)
*

Estimated body mass index is 27.4 kg/m² as calculated from the following:
Height as of this encounter: 6′ (1.829 m).
Weight as of this encounter: 202 lb (91.6 kg).
Facility age limit for growth percentiles is 20 years.
*
Physical Exam
Constitutional: He is oriented to person, place, and time. He appears well-developed and well-nourished. No distress.
Talking, making jokes.
HENT:
Head: Normocephalic and atraumatic.
Eyes: Conjunctivae and EOM are normal.
Neck: Neck supple.
Cardiovascular: Intact distal pulses.
Pulmonary/Chest: Effort normal.
Musculoskeletal: Normal range of motion.
L thumb: Traumatic amputation distal of IP joint. Extensor and flexor mechanisms in tact. Approximately 10% of the base of the thumb nail present. There is a small, arterial bleed near the palmar aspect of the thumb. Bone present underneath macerated tissue, some oozing from bone. Sensation appears to be in tact.
Neurological: He is alert and oriented to person, place, and time.
Skin: Skin is warm and dry.
Psychiatric: He has a normal mood and affect. His behavior is normal. Judgment and thought content normal.

Procedure: amputation repair / partial closure:
Anesthesia with 6 mL of 1% Lidocaine without Epinephrine used for digital block of L thumb. Wound cleansed, upon examination the wound probed to bone. 6-0 vicryl was used to place a single figure-of-eight suture at the site of a small arterial bleed, good hemostasis was achieved. There was continued oozing from the bone, so 4-0 vicryl and 3-0 ethilon were used to gently reapproximate the overlying skin; good hemostasis was achieved. Antibiotic ointment, xeroform dressing and gauze was used and the wound was wrapped with overlying coban. Wound care instructions provided. Single ceftriaxone shot was administered. Observe for any signs of infection or other problems. Return for wound examination in 1 day. Return for suture removal in 7 days.

Assessment and Plan: Patient is a 62 year old male here for finger amputation.
*
1. Traumatic amputation of left thumb, initial encounter
2. Contact with workbench tool, initial encounter
3. Need for diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (Tdap) vaccine
Traumatic amputation of the left thumb due to axe injury. Flexor and extensor function in tact. Wound cleansed and repair with gentle reapproximation of tissue as above. Discussed with orthopedic team in ***who stated that replant was a possible option but may be unsuccessful given time of injury. Patient declined to go to *** for evaluation. Good hemostasis was achieved with the repair, wound dressed with plan for check-up tomorrow. Recommending that patient be seen by orthopedic team in *** this week or next week; patient reluctant given concerns about transportation in winter weather. Will emphasize this recommendation again tomorrow. CTX and TDAP given today. Small rx for oxycodone-acetaminophen given as patient unable to take NSAIDs.
– IMMUNIZATION ADMIN
– TDAP (7 + YEARS)
– INJECTION, LIDOCAINE HCL FOR INTRAVENOUS INFUSION, 10 MG
– cephalexin (KEFLEX) 500 mg capsule; Take 1 Cap by mouth 4 (four) times daily for 5 days Dispense: 20 Cap; Refill: 0
– cefTRIAXone 1 g injection; Inject 1 g into the muscle once

Medical Billing and Coding Forum