Four Factors Affecting the Post-COVID Cancer Care Landscape by  Lijo Simpson, MD Like many healthcare providers, my practice at Atlanta Cancer Care has seen significant changes in most areas due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When the virus emerged earlier this year, we had to move fast to ensure our patients were protected from infection while delivering the best possible...

Coding Spinal Fusion: PCS vs. CPT When circumstances call for coding the same procedure in both CPT and ICD-10-PCS, a number of variables can make it challenging to get the coding right. For instance, the rules and guidelines that dictate whether an accessory procedure is integral to the primary procedure or separately reportable vary with the type of codes you are using.

OBSTETRICAL INPATIENT DIAGNOSIS CODING – A REFRESHER Obstetrics is to coding as cats are to animal lovers, you either love or dislike that subset of coding (or the animal kingdom) and there's no in-between. Sometimes a refresher of the highlights related to obstetrical coding can be beneficial for ensuring accurate coding for this type of record or even re-ignite an...

Finding a Career in Medical Coding Choosing Coding for a Career The demand for medical coders is growing. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects this field to grow by 22% through 2026, and it's not a coincidence. Coding is a great career choice for anyone who wants to be in a non-patient facing position within the healthcare industry. It also offers the benefits...

2021 CPT Code Updates It’s the most wonderful time of the year…annual CPT code updates! Who doesn’t love a good code update, right? Well, for 2021, AMA gives the people what they want with the release of 329 changes to CPT as outlined below and all changes going into effect January 1, 2021. · 206 new codes · 54 code deletions · 69 code revisions Keep reading to get a...

COVID-19 Related Coding Audits How Audits in the time of COVID are effecting healthcare institutions. In healthcare, audits, no matter how unpleasant they are, come with the territory. However, with the advent of the COVID-19 outbreak, audits have taken on a whole new level of dreadfulness. Read on to explore subjects related to the combination of Medicare’s medical...

To Code or Not to Code? That is the Question. Diagnostic Angiography with Therapeutic Interventions Stacie L. Buck, RHIA, CCS-P, RCC, RCCIR, CIRCC: President & Senior Consultant, RadRx One of the most common inquiries I receive about interventional radiology procedures is how to determine when to code for angiograms performed during the same session as a therapeutic...

5 Tips to Provide Effective Post-Audit Education You’ve identified high-risk areas based on previous audits or the OIG Work Plan. Or perhaps you decided to audit new service lines or high-dollar as well as high-volume procedures. You’ve selected a random sample of claims. You’ve audited those claims to determine coding and documentation accuracy. Now what? It’s time to...

Coding COVID-19 Infection in Newborns With the 2021 updates to the ICD-10-CM code classification came 14 new chapter specific guidelines. All but one of these guidelines is related to the coding of COVID-19 infection. Needless to say, COVID-19 is a big deal, and getting the coding for this condition correct has implications for both payment considerations and statistical...

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month  Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the world and the second leading cause of cancer death in women. Breast cancer can be developed at any point in someone’s life, though the risk increases with age. On average, breast cancer takes the life of an American women every 13 minutes, and another case of breast cancer...