Medical Billing Blog with Medical Billing & Coding Info & Articles
Our blog contains news and articles relating to numerous healthcare sectors including revenue cycle management, medical billing, medical coding, ICD, HIPAA, practice management functions and more.
Combining HPI and ROS In Your Medical Billing
Combining HPI and ROS In Your Medical Billing Claims Combining history of present illness and review of systems is possible when doing medical billing. Many medical billers think this practice is breaking a rule or impossible. However, documenting an element once to account for HPI and ROS is perfectly legal. Many times a physician will leave a medical billing company with tons of documentation for a review of systems, but not enough information for the history of present illness. Don’t worry! There is no need to down-code. The CMS states that physicians absolutely do not need to document an element two times just so the person performing medical billing knows …
When To Use POS 21?
When To Use POS 21 In Your Medical Billing Claims When medically billing with hospital locations, it is important to use the correct place of service code. Place of service code 21 is used in medical billing for all inpatient hospital care. When a patient is admitted to the hospital, it is important to use the inpatient hospital POS code 21. Many medical billers get confused when the emergency department comes into play. They question whether or not they should use place of service code 23 for emergency room-hospital, or place of service 21 for inpatient hospital if a patient is admitted from the emergency department. This becomes confusing when …
Changes To CMN’s Coming
Medical Billing News: Changes To CMNs Coming When performing medical billing, October 25, 2005 will create more money for certain medical practices. Beginning in October, new regulations dealing with Power Mobility Devices will need to be implemented. These new regulations may be a hassle to implement, but will come with medical billing rewards. The CMS (Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services) will require a physician to see a patient face-to-face prior to writing a prescription for a power mobility device. This new medical billing rule does not apply to all durable medical equipment, just power mobility devices. There are some changes that will make medically billing power mobility devices easier. …
Which Software is Right?
Medical billing firms are only as good as the software tools they utilize. There are various software programs available to assist your practice with various aspects of the medical business. Three of the most useful and cost effective software programs for medical billing are Medisoft, Lytec, and Medinotes. Click to read more about medical billing software
Look Twice At Your Bilateral Modifiers
Look Twice At Your Bilateral Modifiers Medical billing bilateral modifiers give billers much headache. Not only are bilateral modifier procedures for medical billing complicated, but they are different for each insurance company. Medical billers must check and double check bilateral modifiers in order to receive payment. It’s true, many payers will not pay claims unless they are in the format in which they require them to be. Unfortunately, each and every payer can have a different medical billing requirement for each and every procedure. Bilateral modifiers are some of the most complicated subjects for medical billers. Modifier 50 is a bilateral modifier. For example, if someone gets eye surgery on …
Can You Use 90784 for ED Injections?
Can You Use 90784 for ED Injections? When performing medical billing for emergency department visits, there are several methods one must follow to ensure full payment. Emergency department injections by a physician and the use of current procedural terminology code 90784 usually brings up many questions. The medical billing question of when to use CPT code 90784 usually becomes an issue when a hospital supplies an injection or antibiotic to a patient. Many medical billers believe 90874 should not be used in this situation because the physician has not actually purchased the drug, just administered. In all actuality, 90784 means- therapeutic, prophylactic, and diagnostic injections; intravenous. It is totally appropriate …
October 2005 Medicare Won’t Honor Paper Claims
October 2005 Medicare Won’t Honor Paper Claims Medicare has big changes for claim medical billing practices! As of October 1, 2005 Medicare will no longer be accepting paper claims or non-compliant electronic claims. If providers do not follow these guidelines, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will return a claim unprocessed with orders to submit with the correct medical billing guidelines. Take some relief in knowing that this can save your practice money. First of all, paper medical billing claims are not cost effective for your practice. Postage is necessary as well as the cost of paper. Electronic claims don’t have these added costs. Another benefit to electronic medical …
Must A Pediatrician Take A Patient’s History?
Must A Pediatrician Take A Patient’s History? When running a pediatric office there are many questions that come into play with medical billing. It may seem simple for any personnel to ask a few questions and take a patient’s history, but medical billing regulations may actually dictate who is allowed. In all actuality, it is safe practice to allow any office member to take the review of systems and the family social history. These two evaluation and management history elements can actually be taken by absolutely anyone. It is ok in medical billing for a parent or a secretary to take down this information. The only requirement is that it …
How to Recoup Additional Pay With Central Venous Access Codes
Medical Billing Expertise: How to Recoup Additional Pay With CVAs When performing medical billing for central venous access services there are additional ways physicians can recoup more payment. The CPT codes 76937 and 75998 can be used in medical billing to provide extra CVA payment. If a physician performs an ultrasound guided procedure, the code 76937 will give additional money. This code means: ultrasound guidance for vascular access requiring ultrasound evaluation of potential access sites, documentation of selected vessel patency, concurrent real-time ultrasound visualization of vascular needle entry. This means 76937 can be billed separately from the CVA placement code. One thing to note is that this code is only …
Medical Billing Codes 70551-70553
Using Medical Billing Codes 70551-70553 for MRI and IAC Properly There are many times in medical billing when a patient receives both an IAC and brain MRI. The question is, can the medical biller be reimbursed for both of these services separately? If the medical billing personnel asked the American Medical Association this question, the answer would be simple. They would say that you can absolutely get separately reimbursed for an IAC and brain MRI in the same session. Realistically, however, this is not exactly true. The requirement to code for both x-rays is that they need two separate and distinct exams. Each exam is required to have distinct findings. …
