medical coding

6 must-know coding updates in 2020

Angie Stewart for Becker’s Hospital Review Becker’s ASC Review compiled a timeline of significant medical coding updates that have been proposed or implemented so far this year: January  CMS began paying for certain angioplasty and stenting procedures in ASCs on Jan. 1, under its 2020 Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and ASC Payment System Final Rule. Here…

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HIM Homebodies — Ignited by COVID-19, More Operations Go Remote

By Lisa A. Eramo, MA for For the Record When COVID-19 hit, Joe Naretto, MHA, RHIA, senior director of HIM at Novant Health in Charlotte, North Carolina, was faced with the task of transitioning 80 full-time employees anchored onsite at various corporate locations across the state to remote work arrangements. “Our direction from leadership was:…

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AMA Announces New CPT Codes as COVID-19 Advancements Expand

From For the Record The American Medical Association (AMA) recently published an update to the CPT code set that includes two code additions for reporting medical services sparked by the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The update to the CPT code set was approved by the CPT Editorial Panel, the independent body convened…

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AMA releases 329 CPT code changes for 2021: 6 things to know

By Alia Paavola for Becker’s Hospital Review The American Medical Association released updates Sept. 1 to its Current Procedural Terminology code set for 2021. Six things to know about the changes: The AMA has made 329 changes to the 2021 CPT code set, including 206 new codes, 54 deletions and 69 revisions. The changes will take effect…

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ICD-10 codes don’t accurately capture COVID-19 symptoms, study shows

Kat Jercich for Healthcare IT News A study published this past week in JAMA Network Open suggests symptom-specific ICD-10 codes don’t always capture COVID-19-related symptoms. An electronic health record review of 2,201 patients who had been tested for COVID-19 found that ICD-10 codes had low sensitivity and negative predictive value for capturing cough, fever and…

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Code changes coming for evaluation and management visits: 4 things to know

Morgan Haefner for Becker’s Hospital Review In its proposed Physician Fee Schedule for 2021, CMS outlined changes to how office and outpatient evaluation and management visits will be coded. Four things to know: 1. CMS proposed a refinement to clarify the times when prolonged office and outpatient E/M visits can be reported. The department proposed revaluing…

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11 CPT codes take effect for ASCs

By Angie Stewart for Becker’s Hospital Review CMS published 11 Current Procedural Terminology Category III codes that took effect July 1 in the ASC payment system. The agency also made updated payment rates available for download. The new codes: 0594T. Humerus osteotomy with insertion of an externally controlled intramedullary lengthening device, including intraoperative imaging, initial and subsequent alignment assessments,…

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Guest post: Most common COVID-19 respiratory manifestations

By Alba Kuqi, MD, CICA, CCS, CDIP, CCDS, CRCR, CSMC for ACDIS CDI Blog In their review of the medical record, CDI professionals aim to reconstruct the patient story from admission to discharge by examining, understanding, and synthesizing many puzzle pieces from disparate systems and people. Many patients coming in with COVID-19 related pneumonia are demonstrating…

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CMS releases FY 2021 ICD-10-PCS code set and official guidelines

By Revenue Cycle Advisor CMS recently released the fiscal year (FY) 2021 ICD-10-PCS code set, which includes 544 new codes for Fragmentations of the veins and arteries, Drainages of the pelvic cavity, and Imaging of various organs. It also released the FY 2021 ICD-10-PCS Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting. The new ICD-10-PCS code set take effect…

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