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Coding for Wound Surgical Preparation
July 28, 2022 Question: When billing for the muscle flap codes 15733, 15731 etc., can we also code for the…
Hip Injection
July 28, 2022 Question: I did a left hip intraarticular steroid injection and used fluoroscopic guidance. Can I report the…
Billing for Vascular Access
July 28, 2022 Question: I’m new to vascular coding, can we bill for vascular access for a catheterization? The provider…
Two Orthopaedic Surgeons, Two Separate Surgeries
July 28, 2022 Question: A patient sustained an ankle fracture and a shoulder fracture and surgery was performed on same…
2021 Evaluation and Management Codes: Is a History Required?
July 28, 2022 Question: My coder just told me about the new guidelines for 2021 office visit codes. She said…
Diagnosis Coding Help
July 28, 2022 Question: Can you please assist with the diagnosis for a Compound Dysplastic Nevi of back? Biopsy confirmed…
Separate Procedure Billing
July 28, 2022 Question: The surgeon performed an open colectomy and found a tear in the mesentery close to the…
Removal of Interbody Device
July 28, 2022 Question: Can code 20680, removal of implant, be used for removal of a previously placed intervertebral device,…
Craniosynostosis Co-surgery Question
July 14, 2022 Question: We have a new plastic surgeon who will start doing craniosynostosis surgery with a pediatric neurosurgeon.…
Co-Surgery Due to Complex Procedure
July 14, 2022 Question: I have 2 vascular surgeons from the same practice that want to bill co-surgery for a…
New vs Established Patient
July 14, 2022 Question: I am a contracted physician with a group practice (Practice A) in our town. I have…
Modifiers on Unlisted Codes. Yes or No?
July 14, 2022 Question: Can I use modifiers on an unlisted code? What about global period modifiers such as 58,…
Billing for Reopening of Recent Laparotomy
July 14, 2022 Question: Our surgeon insists on billing for 49002 reopening of a recent laparotomy and a 44005 lysis…
Coding for Percutaneous Screws and Rod Placement
July 14, 2022 Question: I placed posterior percutaneous screws and rods without an arthrodesis. I know I have to use…
Modifiers on Unlisted Codes. Yes or no?
June 30, 2022 Question: Can I use modifiers on an unlisted code? Answer: There is not a single right answer…
Category III Codes Effective July 1, 2022
June 30, 2022 Question: I heard someone say the 2022 CPT manual will be updated in July with new codes.…
Incident to Services
June 30, 2022 Question: We just recently began hiring PAs to see patient to assist our pain physicians. Our pain…
Payment and Coding Changes You Need to Know With Open Exposure in EVAR
June 30, 2022 Question: Does it matter that the open exposure codes are now add-on codes? Does that change payment…
Confusion Regarding the 2021 E/M Guidelines
June 30, 2022 Question: The guidelines that came out in 2021 for E/M services is for all types of E/M…
Mohs Coding Dilemma
June 30, 2022 Question: I am new in Dermatology coding and am currently coding for a Mohs surgeon. I was…
2021 Evaluation and Management Codes: Is a History Required?
June 30, 2022 Question: My coder just told me about the new guidelines for 2021 office visit codes. She said…
E/M Visit During the Global Period
June 30, 2022 Question: Can I bill an office visit in the global period if the diagnosis is different from…
Re-exploration Laminectomy Billing
June 16, 2022 Question: The patient had a re-do laminectomy for stenosis at L3-L4. Can code 63042 be used for…
Skin Lesion Excision – Wait for Pathology?
June 16, 2022 Question: I’ve heard you say to wait for the pathology report in order to bill for the…
Billing Code 34713, Using a 12 French or Larger Catheter with EVAR
June 16, 2022 Question: I almost always use a 12 French or larger catheter for placing the main body for…
Knee Ligament Repair vs Reconstruction
June 16, 2022 Question: What type of graft or fixation material is required to report open extra-articular knee ligament reconstruction…
Incident-to Requirements for Medicare
June 16, 2022 Question: Thank you so much for all the information you gave out in Chicago at the KZA…
Billing for Intestinal Tear During Enterostomy Closure
June 16, 2022 Question: While performing a cholecystectomy a tear in the small bowel was made during extensive lysis of…
Remote Patient Monitoring
June 2, 2022 Question: We are going to begin using remote therapeutic monitoring in our pain practice to monitor our…
Bilateral Carpal Tunnel Procedures – Different Days
June 2, 2022 Question: We are going to be doing bilateral carpal tunnel procedures on a patient – the right…
Articles
CMS Updates Physician Assistant and Nurse Practitioner Billing
AAOSNow – May 2022 by Sarah Wiskerchen In January, CMS introduced guideline changes to its Medicare reporting rules that impact…
Commonly Asked Coding Questions in 2022
AAOSNow – March 2022 by Sarah Wiskerchen In this column, KarenZupko & Associates addresses recently asked questions on coding for…
Three Ways to Increase Employee Engagement in a Remote Workplace
Three Ways to Increase Employee Engagement in a Remote Workplace Physicians Practice – April 2020 by Amy Anderson Engaged employees…
Five Mistakes Doctors Make that Can Cause Big Problems
Five Mistakes Doctors Make that Can Cause Big Problems Physicians Practice – February 2020 by Karen Zupko and Logan Lutton…
Tips for Delivering Feedback Based on Brain Science
Tips for Delivering Feedback Based on Brain Science Physicians Practice – February 2020 by Cheryl Toth Giving staff feedback can…
5 Questions Every Older Physician Should Ask Themselves
5 Questions Every Older Physician Should Ask Themselves Physicians Practice – November 2019 by Karen Zupko Realistically, how long can…
What I Learned in Miami at The Aesthetic Meeting 2021: News You Can Use
Aesthetic Society News – Summer 2021 by Karen Zupko In 2020, 40 years of traveling weekly came to an abrupt halt…
Touchpoints of Impression—Seven Areas to Sweat the Small Stuff
Aesthetic Society News – Winter 2021 by Karen Zupko and Isabel Bolt What keeps plastic surgeons up at night? Most would…
Leasing 101 for 2021
Aesthetic Society News – Spring 2021 by Karen Zupko The environment in which you practice is part of your brand.…
Five Stages of Patient Interaction - Are You Making the Most of Each?
Aesthetic Society News – Fall 2020 by Karen Zupko Suspects. Prospects. First-time patients. Repeat Patients. Advocates. Are your Suspects or…
Navigating the National Correct Coding Initiative
AAOSNow – July 2021 by Sarah Wiskerchen and Michelle Abraham For procedural coding in orthopaedic surgery, physicians, and their staff…
‘Technical Corrections’: CPT Evaluation and Management Publishes Additional Guideline Revisions
AAOSNow – June 2021 by Sarah Wiskerchen and Michelle Abraham Since the adoption of the CPT® Evaluation and Management (E/M)…
Hiring in 2021? – What to Expect and How to Navigate
Aesthetic Society News – Fall 2021 by Karen Zupko The cover of Barron’s said it best: “Help is NOT on…
New Procedures Added to Medicare’s Prior Authorization (PA) List Effective 7/1/21
May 26, 2021 Since 7/1/20, when CMS initiated a requirement for specific procedures to be prior authorized, we have sent…
Is Time on Your Side in 2021?
AAOSNow – November 2020 by Margaret M. Maley In 2021, medical decision making (MDM) or time can be used to select the…
Five Coding Tips for Dealing with Third-party Billing Entities
Five Coding Tips for Dealing with Third-party Billing Entities AAOSNow – February 2020 by Sarah Wiskerchen, MBA, CPC Whether due…
Prior Authorization Chaos is the New Normal for Spine Surgery
ORTHOWORLD – December 11, 2019 In 2017, the American Medical Association surveyed physicians across all specialties about the amount of…
All Work (RVUs) and No Pay?: Eight Questions to Ask the Hospital about Its Work RVU Compensation Formula
GreenBranch.Com – Jan/Feb 2013 by Sarah Wiskerchen As more surgeons and specialists are offered hospital employment, work RVU-based compensation agreements…
Therapy Billing: Be Sure Your Team Is Doing Things Right
Therapy Billing: Be Sure Your Team Is Doing Things Right AAOSNow – October 2019 by Sarah Wiskerchen, MBA, CPC Many…
Coding Errors Can Cost You Money and Potentially a Sale
Coding Errors Can Cost You Money and Potentially a Sale Healio Orthopedics – October 2019 by Karen Zupko As more…
4 Reasons You Should Prepare a Physician Rights and Responsibilities Document
4 Reasons You Should Prepare a Physician Rights and Responsibilities Document Physicians Practice – September 2019 by Karen Zupko It’s…
7 Things to Include in Your Practice's Governance Agreement
7 Things to Include in Your Practice’s Governance Agreement Physicians Practice – September 2019 by Karen Zupko and Michael R.…
How to Bill and Get Paid for Unlisted Procedures
How to Bill and Get Paid for Unlisted Procedures AAOSNow – September 2019 by Cheryl Toth Orthopaedic surgeons often perform…
5 Questions Every Older Physician Should Ask Themselves
5 Questions Every Older Physician Should Ask Themselves Physicians Practice – August 2019 by Karen Zupko 1. Realistically, how long…
Does My Documentation Tell the Story in Critical Care?
Does My Documentation Tell the Story in Critical Care? SCCM Critical Connections – August 2019 by Deborah Grider The initial and…
Does Your Practice Treat Pain?
Does Your Practice Treat Pain? AAOSNow – August 2019 by Cheryl Toth Interventional pain management is a growing specialty, and…
Practice Acquisition: How to be Easy to Do Business With
Practice Acquisition: How to be Easy to Do Business With Healio Orthopedics – August 2019 by Karen Zupko When was…
Seven Common Questions in Foot and Ankle Coding
AAOS Now – July 2019 by Sarah Wiskerchen A previous article published in AAOS Now (“How to Avoid Common Mistakes…
