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

Reverse total shoulder arthroplasty treatment for complex fracture of proximal humeru

I am second guessing myself for the CPT code for a reverse total shoulder arthroplasty treatment for complex fracture of right proximal humerus.

I was going to use CPT code 23472. However now I am wondering should I be using CPT code 23616?

thanks

Medical Billing and Coding Forum

17260 Total Treatment diameter vs. lesion size? HELP

Help! I have a dermatology provider who is always billing for malignant destruction lesions. She will document in her note something like this:

The lesion was then prepped with chlorhexidine, and anesthetized with buffered 1 % lidocaine with epinephrine, followed by electrodesiccation and curettage 3 times, achieving 4 mm margins, giving total treatment diameter of 3.3 cm.

I know margins are included per the excision codes (114xx, 116xx) but I have never heard of anyone billing a margin for a destruction (same as a wart)

Is "total treatment area" justifiable as a lesion size or is it only appropriate to bill for the actual size of the lesion only? I’m getting push back from the provider but compliance agrees with us.
CPT assist also states lesion size only and no margins.

Anyone else have any thoughts or solutions

Thanks!

Medical Billing and Coding Forum

Total VS Partial Thyroid lobectomy

Hello, I am trying to decipher whether to code the below procedure as total or partial. What are your thoughts? Also I cant code 60512 with 60210 & 60220 right?

RIGHT THYROID LOBECTOMY
– PR THYROID LOBECTOMY,UNILAT
PARATHYROID AUTOTRANSPLANT*

Description of Procedure: In the supine position with appropriate monitoring she received general endotracheal anesthesia with IV antibiotic. Shoulder roll was placed. The neck is gently extended, the neck and chest widely prepped with chlorhexidine and draped after 3 minutes. A standard Coller incision made, deepened through skin and adipose tissue with cautery dividing platysma, upper and lower flaps are created. The midline raphae is displaced to the left, identified and opened. The thinned sternohyoid muscle retracted laterally, the SCM muscle is also exposed, somewhat thinned by the mass. We elevate and separate the flimsy attachments with direct vision using Harmonic Focus. The upper pole is released quite high, dividing directly on the gland with Harmonic Focus. The upper pole is retracted medially and elevated, separating soft tissue with a Kitner dissector. I now recognized the right superior parathyroid gland, and submitted for frozen section. The remainder is minced into 1 mm cubes placed in a saline gauze. When frozen section returns confirmatory, we cease operation, make to avascular pockets in the anterior SCM and placed 4 and 5 cubes into each of the pockets, covered with horizontal 4–0 polypropylene suture. Return to the thyroid with elevation the course of the recurrent nodule nerve is identified, a very prominent tortuous artery is inadvertently cut and secured with a clip, this is slightly caudal to the identified and protected recurrent laryngeal nerve. Just to the right and inferior of this artery is the right inferior parathyroid gland marked with a suture. With the nerve and parathyroid recognized, we used the Harmonic Focus to separate and divide tissues off the ligament of Berry, off the anterior trachea, taking the inferior pole directly on the gland including the vessels. The isthmus is released at its junction with the otherwise normal left side and divided with Harmonic Focus. The oriented specimen is submitted. We have irrigated with saline with clear return. Blood loss from the arterial disruption and during dissection of the large mass was about 20 mL. We placed Fibrillar sheets to minimize blood accumulation and place a 10 French channel drain to exit inferolaterally held with silk. We inspected for any active bleeding and none found and now reapproximate the midline with running lock 4-0 Vicryl suture. Platysma was closed with simple running 4-0 suture, skin with running subcuticular technique. Dermal glue and dressing are applied. She is awakened and extubated in the operating suite, transported to PACU.
*

Medical Billing and Coding Forum

Total Knee Arthroplasty No Longer Inpatient-Only

Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is no longer an inpatient-only service for Medicare beneficiaries. This change “allows Medicare payment to be made to the hospital for TKA procedures regardless of whether a beneficiary is admitted to the hospital as an inpatient or as an outpatient, assuming all other criteria are met,” as explained in MLN Matters […]

The post Total Knee Arthroplasty No Longer Inpatient-Only appeared first on AAPC Knowledge Center.

AAPC Knowledge Center

Help on Total Shoulder Question Please

Wondering if I can please get some guidance on the following as I’ve never ran into this before and am unsure how to handle.

First…
We have a patient that went in for a reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (23474).
During surgery there was an intraoperative humeral shaft fracture.
The provider lists the total shoulder arthroplasty and ORIF of humeral shaft fracture.
Are these separately billable? Or is the fracture repair included since it was an intraoperative complication?

Second…
The same patient was taken back in for surgery the following day because of Interval loss of fracture reduction.
The provider lists Revision, ORIF, left humerus and Revision of humeral bearing component.

I’m really struggling with it and probably over-thinking it, so any guidance is much appreciated. Thank you!

Medical Billing and Coding Forum

0375T Allowable and Average Billing for Total disc arthroplasty (artificial disc), an

What is the allowable amount and average billing amount for a 0375T, Total disc arthroplasty (artificial disc), anterior approach, including discectomy with end plate preparation (includes osteophytectomy for nerve root or spinal cord decompression and microdissection), cervical, three or more levels. Tom S.

Medical Billing and Coding Forum

Total Time allotments for CPT Codes (Pre, Intra, Post – Service time allotments)

Hello everyone,
I’m looking for an excel spreadsheet I can download with all the breakdowns for CPT services (i.e. pre/intra/post minutes for each CPT code). I believe this information came from CMS…? My brain is fried today…I know I have downloaded this information previously, but can’t recall where.

Does anyone know where I can find this information?

Jennie Clark

Medical Billing and Coding Forum