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

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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”

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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

Follow These Three Steps to Host Virtual Meetings

In the August Officer News we encouraged officers to host virtual meetings as part of the six required education events sponsored. We want to remind you again of the three steps to follow: Step 1 – Email [email protected] to reserve a date for the virtual meeting. Include: The name of the chapter The name of […]

The post Follow These Three Steps to Host Virtual Meetings appeared first on AAPC Knowledge Center.

AAPC Knowledge Center

Baton Rouge Physician sentenced to over three years in jail in a fraud scheme

A former owner and medical director of a Baton Rouge pain management clinic was sentenced to over 3 years in federal jail Friday during a health care fraud scheme, federal authorities mentioned. Dr. John Eastham Clark, who co-owned Louisiana Spine & Sports on Bluebonnet avenue, additionally was ordered to pay nearly $ 255,000 in restitution by Chief U.S. District judge Shelly Dick.

Read The Full Story Here!

The post Baton Rouge Physician sentenced to over three years in jail in a fraud scheme appeared first on The Coding Network.

The Coding Network

Joint Commission: Four new suicide prevention EPs, three revised

The Joint Commission (TJC) announced revisions to its suicide prevention National Patient Safety Goal on November 27. NPSG 15.01.01 now has seven elements of performance (EP), up from three and will take effect July 1, 2019.

HCPro.com – Briefings on Accreditation and Quality

California Workers Comp Division Suspends Three Medical Providers for Fraud

The California Division of Workers’ Compensation has recently suspended 3 more medical providers from participating in the state’s system, bringing the total number of providers suspended to 245.

Click here to read the full story.

The post California Workers Comp Division Suspends Three Medical Providers for Fraud appeared first on The Coding Network.

The Coding Network

Three Medical Coding Changes in 2019

After a quiet year, expect three significant changes to the way you do your medical coding, as indicated by recent announcements by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Medical coders will see the changes in 2019, making medical coding certification more important than ever. Based […]
AAPC Knowledge Center

Three Year Rule Requires Face-to-Face Service

When selecting among E/M codes with “new” and “established” patient categories, most coders know to follow the so-called three year rule. If the provider has seen the patient in the past 36 months, the patient is established. It’s important to stress that the provider must have seen the patient. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid […]
AAPC Knowledge Center

Medicare Recognizes Three Emerging Specialties with Official Codes

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has created three new physician specialty codes that will go into effect Oct. 2. The codes are: C7 – Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology C8 – Medical Toxicology C9 – Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology According to the American […]
AAPC Knowledge Center

Three Pointers To Help You Avoid Common Stent Coding Mistakes

When your urologist places a stent after a ureteroscopic procedure (say for instance stone removal, the coding is not always cut and dry. You will need to dig into the documentation details to ensure you select the proper code for the clinical circumstances.

Here are three pointers which will help you stay away from the most common stent coding mistakes.

Get to know when the stent is not really a stent

Not each and every mention of stent’ in your urologist’s documentation means you can report a stent code such as 52332 (Cystourethroscopy, with insertion of indwelling ureteral stent [e.g., Gibbons or double-J type]).

Here’s the reason: There are two types of stents your urologist will make use of temporary and permanent and the first one is not really a true stent. A temporary stent is in actuality a ureteral catheter, placed at surgery to assist during surgery. The urologist then removes the catheter post surgery before the patient leaves the operating room. In this situation, you should not report stent code 52332. Instead, use 52005 (Cystourethroscopy, with ureteral catheterization, with or without irrigation, instillation, or ureteropyelography, exclusive of radiological service).

For postoperative drainage stents, stick with 52332

The second type of stent is a permanent stent. These types of stents are placed after surgery for drainage, and are indwelling and self retaining. The patient goes away from the operative room with the stent in place, and the stent will be removed at a later date.

Whereas temporary stents that are often placed as part of an endoscopic procedure (52320-52355) can’t be reported in addition to the primary procedure, an indwelling stent, which is placed during the procedure to keep the ureter open and to aid recovery after the procedure can be billed separately.

Here’s how: When your urologist documents that he placed a double-J stent for postoperative drainage, you should use 52332.

Bilateral coding: If your urologist places bilateral double-J stents for postop drainage, your exact coding will depend on the payer. For Medicare, use 52332 with modifier 50 (Bilateral procedure) appended. Private payers may also want 52332-50 or they may request you use 52332-LT (Left side) and 52332-50-RT (Right side) on two lines.

In many instances, report stent placement separately

If your urologist places a stent during the same session in which he also carries out another ureteroscopic procedure, most likely you can report both procedures.

When the patient has a large ureteral stone which the urologist removes ureteroscopically, there may follow a significant amount of ureteral swelling. In order to avoid complete ureteral obstruction, an indwelling ureteral stent may be placed to keep the ureter open.”

In this situation, bill the ureteroscopy code (52352, Cystourethroscopy, with ureteroscopy and/or pyeloscopy; with removal or manipulation of calculus [ureteral catheterization is included]) and 52332. For some payers you may need to add modifier 51 (multiple procedures) to 52332 to indicate that you have carried out a secondary procedure. You don’t need to add modifier 59 (Distinct procedural service) as because 52332 is no longer bundled with 52320-52355.

For more on this and for other specialty-specific articles to assist your urology coding, sign up for a good Medical coding resource like Coding Institute.

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