The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the novel coronavirus a global public health emergency on Jan. 31. As of Feb. 3, the coronavirus has spread to 24 countries, and the first death outside of China has been reported in the Philippines.

The Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) includes special pricing for four colonoscopy codes when you append modifier 53 (Discontinued procedure). Here’s what you need to know about appending modifier 53 to these codes and the payment you can expect...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will implement a new ICD-10-CM diagnosis code for reporting vaping-related disorders starting April 1. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has updated the software it uses to classify inpatient prospective payment system claims into Medicare...

Current Procedural Terminology codes provide a uniform language for reporting medical services and procedures provided by members of the medical community. The codes are copywritten and managed by the CPT Editorial Panel of the American Medical Association. CPT codes may be designated as...

It’s a common complaint heard among primary care physicians: Evaluation and management (E/M) codes don’t adequately capture the time, skill, and resources necessary to plan and coordinate care for patients with complex medical needs. Although new, streamlined E/M guidelines for...

An annual coding contest revealed that the accuracy of outpatient coding worsened in 2019, ICD-10 Monitor reports. Five insights:

Success can cost you more than you thought it would. You might have heard the phrase, “everyone wants to be successful until they see what it actually takes.” While I’m not sure where the quote originates, I’ve seen it attached to various images, one of which is...

The coding of medical diagnosis and treatment has always been a challenging issue. Translating a patient’s complex symptoms, and a clinician’s efforts to address them, into a clear and unambiguous classification code was difficult even in simpler times. Now...

Hospital billing departments coordinate health plan benefits every day. Typically, coordination of benefits (COB) is aided by patient registration workflows that gather basic demographic and health insurance information. But what if a patient gets hurt on the job or in an automobile accident?