Medical Billing Blog: Section - Consulting

Archive of all Articles in the Consulting Section

This is the archive containing links to all articles written in the Consulting section of our blog.

Click any of the article links below to read the entire article or browse another section to the right to read articles on another subject.

October Updates Are In Effect!

If you haven’t already, make sure that your staff is using the updated CPT codes that were released in October 2008. Not doing so can lead to kick backs that will require more staff hours to research, redo and resubmit and if this happens on a number of claims it can seriously affect your reimbursements and in turn – slow your revenue flow to a mere trickle. One way to avoid this dilemma is to outsource your medical billing and yes, there are some horror stories out there about outsource companies that threw away patient billing, had lax attitudes towards billing submissions and wound up costing the physician a lot

Published By: Melissa Clark, CCS-P | No Comments

Tips for Getting Maximum Reimbursements for Ulcer Claims

Often, patients who are confined to beds for long periods of time develop pressure ulcers. They are painful and need to be treated as quickly as possible as infections can set up within them that can be life threatening when the patient is already in a weakened condition. When a service is performed for a patient such as treatment of a pressure ulcer on an area of the body such as the lower back, the usual manner of treatment is to remove any devitalized tissue from the ulcer using a water jet and forceps. The area is then covered to allow it to not be rubbed on so the skin

Published By: Melissa Clark, CCS-P | No Comments

Do You Know the Three "R’s" of Consulting Reimbursements?

Since consultation requirements have increased in the last year as far as criteria for getting them reimbursed in your medical billing claims, there are some criteria you must be certain that your claims meet in order to justify using codes 99241-99255. It used to be simple and medical billing consultant merely had to meet the three “R’s” in order to justify medical billing claims for consultations. However the criteria for what does and does not constitute a consultation has changed and in order to make sure that your medical billing claims are paid, you need to reacquaint yourself with the three R’s of medical billing for consultations. The three R’s

Published By: Melissa Clark, CCS-P | No Comments

Definity Still Definitely a Problem in 2007

The injectable contract agent named Perflutren better known as Definity has caused a lot of confusion as many providers are billing the incorrect code and Medicare and most other large payors switched the code for this service in late 2005 and 2 years later it’s still showing up on medical billing and causing numerous delays and rejections on medical billing reimbursements. If you’re a service provider that is still billing A9700, you could face delays in getting paid–or even denials on your medical billing claims. If the carrier approves the main echocardiography procedure, then it will usually approve the use of Definity as contrast. If you are not sure of

Published By: Melissa Clark, CCS-P | No Comments

Wound Closure Medical Billing -Dermabond or Stitches?

When a wound needs closing and a tissue adhesive is used the medical billing coding can be different than when sutures or stitches are used. There are specific guidelines for medical billing when tissue adhesives are used. All adhesives including Dermabond have their own unique way of being reported on medical billing. Consult with Medicare or the carrier to ensure that you are meeting those guidelines prior to submitting your medical billing. There are five basic guidelines that Medicare requires in order to reimburse for this service and many carriers follow the same criteria for laceration closures utilizing Dermabond. You should report G0168 for Medicare patients only; the CPT code

Published By: Melissa Clark, CCS-P | No Comments