Tag: Medical billing and coding

13-recent-cms-actions

13 recent CMS actions

  CMS recently released new data on hospital changes of ownership, a health equity plan and said it would end a legal battle with Texas over Medicaid. Becker’s has reported on the following 13 CMS moves since April 8. Finance No hospitals received price transparency notices in April, CMS says CMS issued no additional warning […]
preventive-medicine-versus-em-codes-the-same-day-coding-dilemma

Preventive Medicine Versus E&M Codes

Choosing a proper office visit code can become confusing unless one understands the rules separating preventive medicine and evaluation and management (E&M) coding. Problem-oriented E&M services, office, and other outpatient visit codes 99202-99215 (along with hospital, observation, and consultative encounters) are for patients who present with signs, symptoms, conditions, diagnoses and/or problems that need to […]
dont-overlook-these-new-pla-codes

Don’t Overlook These New PLA Codes

A quarterly update for the Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule (CLFS), issued May 4, includes nine new CPT® codes for proprietary laboratory analyses (PLAs). Medical coding and billing staff that process claims for lab testing should be aware of these codes and pricing. 9 New PLA Codes The following PLA (type of service 5) codes are […]
how-to-build-icd-10-pcs-codes-from-op-reports

How to Build ICD-10-PCS Codes From Op Reports

Arrive at the correct procedure code by breaking down the operative report. Even seasoned coding professionals occasionally find it challenging to assign the appropriate ICD-10-PCS codes from the operative report. Mastering the procedural coding system used in the inpatient hospital setting takes practice. Medical coders reporting inpatient services should start by reading the operative report, […]
4-ways-to-improve-claims-efficiency-for-rural-providers

4 Ways to improve claims efficiency for rural providers

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) subsidizes healthcare in defined rural environments, paying encounter rates for provided services provided and the overhead required to provide them. However, it’s not free money. Rural health clinic (RHC) leaders must keep track of the services provided and submit yearly totals. They also must submit and process […]

5 Ways to Ensure RCM Efforts Don’t Leave Money on the Table

A frequent knock on electronic health records has been that they’re just glorified billing systems that fail to provide enough clinical functionality to make a significant difference in quality of care. So it’s somewhat incongruous that a recent Black Book report on revenue cycle management (RCM) system adoption would say that 26 percent of hospitals […]