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

Turn The Cessation of Elective Surgeries Into an Opportunity to Educate

Under normal circumstances, the biggest difficulty practices encounter when trying to engage in physician education is timing.  Coordinating everyone’s schedules, pulling providers out of the operative and visiting rooms, and capturing a practice’s attention during the work day (or worse, during lunch) can be incredibly challenging.  We all understand that physicians are always busy and fitting in additional work, even documentation training to improve their performance, is a challenging feat.

With Shelter-At-Home ordinances and a cessation of elective services around the country, most providers find themselves with only telemedicine visits to fill their dockets.  Covid-19 has substantially slowed down many practices that provide elective services.  Instead of wasting this time waiting for normal life to resume, utilize this opportunity to take care of the tasks that are typically difficult to coordinate.

Most training sessions are able to be done remotely so the providers can login from their own homes.  In fact, this might allow for the most engagement with your providers in a training session as they do not have a full schedule dragging them in a million different directions.  Remote physician documentation training will help keep your providers involved with the practice and their specialty during a period of prolonged downtime.  Better yet, it will help to improve their skill sets so that when they do return to the operating room, their enhanced documentation will allow for optimized reimbursement and fewer denials ensuring that your practice’s revenue stream is healthier than ever.

The post Turn The Cessation of Elective Surgeries Into an Opportunity to Educate appeared first on The Coding Network.

The Coding Network

Special Rules Apply to Endoscopic Sinus Surgeries

The multiple surgery calculation for nasal endoscopy codes is changed when multiple nasal endoscopies are performed in the same session on the same day. For Calendar Year 2020, instead of paying the multiple surgeries at 50 percent, surgeons will be paid the difference between the fee for the procedure performed and the base code for […]

The post Special Rules Apply to Endoscopic Sinus Surgeries appeared first on AAPC Knowledge Center.

AAPC Knowledge Center

Shoulder Surgeries

We have been going back and forth with insurance about our shoulder surgeries. CPT codes are 29827, 29826, 29824, 23430. We have tried several scenarios and haven’t been able to get all codes paid. Are most recent discovery was Department of Labor required NO modifiers and paid all codes, but that doesn’t fly with the other insurance companies. From what we can tell 29827 would be the main CPT. 29826 is an add-on code and requires no modifier if used in conjunction with 29827. 29824 we have given both a -59 and -51 modifier (with no luck getting paid) and 23430 a -59 modifier. Even with one that was billed everything was paid except for the 29827 but to our understanding it wouldn’t require any modifiers.

Has anyone had to bill or had any luck with billing these? Even with Medicare we have used XU on the 29824 and 23430 i believe and still cant find a good solution. If honestly seems like every insurance has a different rule when it comes to it. Thanks you the help in advance!!!!!

Medical Billing and Coding Forum

Surgeries done in Op Suite then transported to Lithotripsy Suite

My physician performs cysto’s with pyelograms and if needed, stent removals, placements, etc…

THEN

he dictates that he "trasports the patient to the lithotripsy suite and placed supine on the table".

I can’t find any real guidance on whether this would be considered a separate procedure by definition of a "separate encounter".

Any thoughts? If you agree or disagree, do you know of any documentation out there that supports either side?

SB

Medical Billing and Coding Forum

Preop clearance for major or minor surgeries

Can a preop clearance be billed for major surgeries(90 global) only or can it be billed for 0 global procedures like endoscopes .

Per CMS, preop clearance(see below article) can be billed if medical necessity is proven but nothing has been mentioned about the type of surgeries that require a preop clearance.

https://www.aafp.org/fpm/2001/0900/p16.html

Thanks

Medical Billing and Coding Forum

Need help with complicated multiple surgeries

Hi, Can anyone help me with some CPT codes for a patient who had multiple surgeries? On 9/13, she had a sigmoid colon resection with end to end anastomosis. For that I am using 44147. She developed peritonitis, and on 9/18, she had a re-opening of the laparotomy, irrigation and drainage, repair of an anastomotic leak, and a diverting loop ileostomy. The wound was closed with loose surgical cliips. For the ileostomy, I am using 44310; don’t know if I can charge for the repair of the anastomosis or what code I would use for it (44799?). She developed leukocytosis, and on 9/21, had a second look laparotomy and washout. Fluid collections were aspirated, abdominal cavity was irrigated. The wound was not closed, but a wound vac was applied. I was thinking 49002 for the re-opening of the laparotomy, and 97605 for the wound vac, but don’t know if there’s anything else I can charge. On 9/23, she went back for a limited abdominal exploration (separated multiple loops of small bowel), suctioned out some fluid, and applied wound vac. Don’t know if I can charge 49002, as the wound was left open last time. On 9/25, she went back to OR and was found to have a rupture of a suture line at the anastomosis. She had irrigation and drainage, closure of the rectal stump, closure of proximal descending colon, lysis of adhesions, wound vac. Doctor commented that the small bowel, mesentery, omentum and abdominal wall remained edematous and non-compliant. Again, I don’t know if I can charge for the closure of the rectal stump ( that was to repair the rupture of the anastomosis), or what code I would use for it. They were going to do a loop colostomy, but the descending colon did not have enough mobility to reach the skin level, so they closed it off (oversewn to a blind end) and will re-evaluate it in 48 hours. Don’t know what code to use for that. I’m guessing some of these will be unlisted. On 9/27, she had mobilization of the splenic flexure, end descending colostomy (opening was lateral and cephalad to the umbilicus), irrigation and drainage, and wound vac. Not sure if I should use 44141, 44143, or something else, as at this visit, they didn’t remove any parts of the colon.
Any help on this mess would be appreciated, as it is just beyond my experience.
Thank you!
Donna H.

Medical Billing and Coding Forum