All Articles Written by Kathryn Disney-Etienne, CCS-P, RT
All Articles Written by Kathryn Etienne, CCS-P - RETIRED
Welcome to the archived list of all medical billing articles written and previously posted to the site by Kathryn Etienne, CCS-P, retired Director of Operations.
All articles are listed below and categorized by date, newest to oldest. Click any article link below to read the entire article.
Correct Use of Modifier 51
The multiple procedure code Modifier 51, causes some confusion among medical billing professionals because it relates to multiple procedures performed but what many medical coders miss is the fact it only applies to multiple procedures performed by physicians and imaging centers. Using this modifier can get your claim denied and cause a large delay in receiving reimbursements. Carriers already assume during a hospital stay that multiple procedures will already be performed therefore designation of the exact nature and type of services rendered by the attending physician will still suffice for hospital medical billing claims. The CPT manual designates modifier 51 (Multiple procedures) exempt codes with a “circle with a slash” …
Medical Coding – Stop the Paper Chase!
If your staff complains they don’t have time to do their jobs because they are keeping up with the fast paced changes in your medical coding, it might be time to consider outsourcing. Correct coding is critical for your medical billing claims to be processed accurately. If you aren’t turning in accurately coded medical billing claims, you could be costing your practice up to one-fourth of your revenue. We offer medical coding services that can be included as a bundled package with your medical billing services or if you only need coding, you can opt to only have us process your medical coding. It is imperative that your medical coding …
New to Medical Billing?
Understanding the basics of medical billing will make it easier to process claims and do your coding correctly, even if you don’t work in the industry full time or you are new to working in a practice. You will hear two terms over and over. ICD-9 and CPT. These are the two coding systems that are used to process medical billing forms. The first acronym is the one that identifies the type of disease or physical state of the patient being treated. Those are the ICD-9 codes which stands for International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification, or shortened ICD-9-CM, codes) and another that describes the procedures, services or …
Eliminate Confusion Over 99053 and 99058 in Billing
There were two new codes issued in 2006 that continue to confuse many medical billers. These two codes were created to specifically address the after-hours and red-eye services for procedures done by physicians outside the normal hours. Previously when compiling the medical coding for medical billing, a coder would have used 99050 as a “catch-all” coding. Now CPT has revised the original code and added new codes. 99053 is “for services between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. in 24-hour facilities,” and will be used by both physicians on call and hospitals. Please note that code 99053’s wording to include “24-hour facility” will put a new limitation on using late night …
When to Provide Family and PH V Codes
With all of the various codes in relation to the medical field, some may tend to become a bit confused when it comes to figuring out the difference between both personal and family history V codes. Basically, what you need to remember is that the V codes are there to help give a window into past patient history. If there is an ongoing medical condition, the V codes can be used to tell the tale. When looking into personal history, you can find out more about any prior procedures, hospitalizations and operations, as well as any previous illnesses and injuries that the patient has endured. This can help to show …
