The ability to rapidly and accurately report such granular detail requires a robust data infrastructure. Instrumental to this infrastructure are the specific AMA Current Procedural Terminology (CPT®) product and administrative codes related to COVID-19 vaccines. Long described as the “common language of medicine,” the CPT code set is kept current through the work of the CPT Editorial […]
AMA updated the CPT code for the third dose of Pfizer’s pediatric COVID-19 vaccine on the heels of the FDA’s recently expanded emergency use authorization. The American Medical Association (AMA) announced a Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code set update to include a code for administering a third dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine in children 5 […]
You’ve received a request for medical records from a payer, who is going to conduct an audit on your claims. Your Electronic Health Record (EHR) system is excellent, the notes are voluminous, your providers are well-versed at coding. If anything, you under code! You provide excellent care for your patients and achieve great outcomes. […]
As part of its ongoing mission to improve the health of America, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) announced its National Health Equity Strategy in April 2021 to confront the nation’s crisis in racial health disparities. This strategy is intended to change the trajectory of health disparities and reimagine a more equitable health care […]
DOJ lawsuits may be your road map to risk adjustment compliance. The growing prevalence of risk adjustment in healthcare has forged new processes in documentation practices that have resulted in many organizations adopting practices that bend the cast iron rules for ICD-10-CM coding. We are starting to see some of the long-term dangers of ambitiously […]
A solid understanding of guidelines and COVID-19-related complexities will limit claim denials and audits. Deciphering documentation to determine what qualifies as critical care services can be challenging for medical coders and auditors. With limited critical care codes available for assignment, reporting may appear relatively straightforward at first glance. However, there are many considerations that coders […]
New COVID-19 vaccine status codes, changes and corrections to the 2022 CPT code set, Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) payment changes, and prior authorization code list changes — that’s what’s on the agenda this month. Read all about it! 3 New Codes Improve COVID-19 Vaccination Status An April 1, 2022, update to the 2022 ICD-10-CM […]
In November 2021, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued the Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule (“Final Rule”) which includes several telehealth policy updates that will go into effect in calendar year 2022.1 As a result of the COVID-19 public health emergency (“PHE”), CMS expanded the availability of telehealth through the use of […]
The package includes three ICD-10-CM and seven procedure codes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have both stated that in April 2022, we will have three new ICD-10-CM codes and seven new procedure codes for COVID-19 therapeutics and vaccines. You may recall that in […]
The cost to appeal is worth the claim reimbursement and modification of payer behavior. As we approach 2022, one of our new year’s resolutions should be to do what’s necessary to decrease denials. We know that payers and external auditors took a break during the pandemic, but now it’s open season for audits and denials. […]