Medical Billing Blog with Medical Billing & Coding Info & Articles
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Welcome to the medical billing blog containing news and articles relating to medical billing, medical coding, ICD, HIPAA and practice management functions.
2004-2024 Celebrating 20 Years of Healthcare RCM Articles
The Blog Currently Contains 1,265+ Healthcare Articles
Will Outsourcing Get My Billing Reimbursements Faster?
It doesn’t sound logical. Sending your claims out of your office to someone else would actually speed up the process of getting reimbursed, but letting someone else handle your medical billing and coding really does speed up the process. Think about how often your in-house staff gets interrupted, how often the crisis du jour arises and day to day managing of the office prevents them from filing, double checking accuracy, and following up on your submitted claims. Time is also lost re-submitting claims when they get kicked back for the smallest of errors in coding. As you know, Medicare is extremely strict as far as coding and re-submissions can seriously …
Reporting Observation Medical Billing Claims
You know the basics for reporting observation services in the ED. However, there are some common coding mistakes that can be costing you in the form or partial or rejected services. Don’t worry about the location of the services for observation. Observation is a service and not necessarily a physical place within the ED where the patient can stay. Another way to insure full reimbursement is to make sure that you have a specific written order from the physician for observation. Medical documentation should include time notes from both the doctor and nurses. Avoid using codes 99228-99220 when reporting observation. It is used to determine whether or not a patient …
Correct Multiple Procedure Medical Billing
When multiple procedures are performed, you do not have to append modifier 51 for each group of procedures. The CPT manual designates modifier 51 (Multiple procedures) exempt codes with a “circle with a slash” symbol to the left of the code for the services rendered. There is usually a complete listing of modifier 51 exempt codes in an appendix. The list is “a summary of CPT codes that are exempt from the use of modifier 51 but have NOT been designated as CPT add-on procedures/services,” according to CPT 2006. As an example look up a code in your CPT. Arterial catheterization code 36620 (Arterial catheterization or cannulation for sampling, monitoring …
Using the Proper IV Codes
When you have a medical billing claim using codes for infusion codes 90760 and 90761, which are for Intravenous infusion, hydration; initial, up to one hour and each additional hour, up to 8 hours [list separately in addition to code for primary procedure] respectively are used for physician billing in general according to the new CPT 2006 release. Make sure of these IV codes in your medical billing if they accurately describe the service performed and you will reap the rewards in your reimbursements. Be sure to check out the individual carrier’s policies for paying on these codings and be aware that Medicare has specific requirements to meet prior to …
Medical Billing Questions – Is Oxygen a Separate Code?
If you’re having trouble finding an oxygen administration coding in the CPT, the reason is that there is no specific oxygen administration codings for your medical billing. When a patient requires oxygen, the use of the oxygen is bundled into the day’s EM services. When a doctor prescribes the oxygen, you should use the appropriate office visit code that describes the procedure and services performed by the physicians that necessitates the need for oxygen. Full documentation of the medical billing claim will insure that your bundled oxygen administrations codings get full reimbursement. For example, if you have a physician who performs a detailed examination and incurs moderate complexity decision making …
