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Use This Sample Letter for Chronic No-Show Patients
Cool tool you can adapt for your practice today. No-shows mean money down the drain for your practice, and chronic no-shows cost you big bucks. When no-shows become a problem, you need to communicate to the patient that she needs…
Continue reading...10 Consult Coding Tips for 2010
1. December 2009
How to navigate CPT’s 99241-99255 section in 2010. No doubt about it. One of the biggest coding challenges in 2010 will be how to code consults — or what used to be consults. Hospital inpatient visits will be especially tricky.…
Continue reading...The Fee-for-Service Payment System Explained
18. November 2009
Tony Palcaorolla, the first-ever Medicare bene. With President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965. This free podcast gives you a unique perspective on the coding or billing job you do every day. I…
Continue reading...What’s This About No Consultation Codes? 2010 Fee Schedule Explained
11. November 2009
You’ll no longer use 99241-99255 for some payers. Here’s why. Last week, My Coding Career gave you a crash course on how the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule works. This week, we explain a big change the MPFS…
Continue reading...The 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule — Decoded
4. November 2009
Is the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule like Greek to you? Relax. We’ll explain it to you in plain English. What, exactly, is the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule? I used to wonder that when I first entered the world of coding…
Continue reading...Integumentary Coding: Is Your Lesion Pathophysiology Know-How More Than Skin Deep
26. October 2009
‘Wheal’ you know how to code a ‘wheal’ when you see it in your doctor’s notes? Skin lesions vary in form and name, but all describe an abnormal growth or an area of skin that does not resemble the skin…
Continue reading...E/M Coding Skill Sharpener: Hospital Observation Services
20. October 2009
When reporting 99217-99220 & 99234-99236, follow 3 main rules. Lots of coders have questions about coding hospital observation services. You’re on your way to correct E/M coding if you follow these 3 rules. Rule 1. Report 99218-99220 with 99217 if the…
Continue reading...Rev Up Your Coding Career: Know What’s Next
14. October 2009
Here’s how to be the go-to-guy or gal for ICD-10 and HIPAA Form Changes. More than one successful coder has told me they got their first leg up when they learned something that no one else in the office understood.…
Continue reading...E/M Coding Education: ‘New’ vs. ‘Established’ Patients
7. October 2009
Choice the wrong fork in the road & you wind up in Incorrect Code Land When coding for evaluation & management services, it’s hard enough to verify place of service, discern components and select the correct level. But get the…
Continue reading...A Coder’s Reference Guide to E/M Terms
3. August 2009
You’ll get through your claims quota faster if you know this jargon. When I first encountered the acronyms, abbreviations, and mumbo-jumbo jargon that come along with E/M coding, I felt like this ostrich must feel: Out of place and…
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9. December 2009
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