Betsy Nicoletti

Medical practices need to focus more attention on the specificity and completeness of their diagnosis coding in order to be compensated fairly.

Before deciding to provide and bill for chronic care management, a practice should make sure it has the necessary staff and support structures first.

Over the summer CMS added four new modifiers that will require a much greater degree of specification when coding surgical procedures.

Reporting vaccine administration can be tricky. Practices should review most recent updates and be aware of differences between commercial and federal payers.

Reviewing the definitions of modifiers first will ensure that applying a modifier goes from a game of chance to a sure thing.

Claims are paid based on the CPT code submitted to the payer. The diagnosis code supports medical necessity and tells the payer why the service was performed.

Sometimes patients show up for preventive care and an urgent problem. Should you eat the cost for one service? Or bill for both?

The ICD-10 transition will require a significant change in mindset for practice administrators and staff alike. The time for excuses is past.

But if the facts on the use of modifier 25 are clear, why are practices and hospital systems paying back millions of dollars for the incorrect use of modifier 25?

The Medicare Physician Fee Schedule is packed with information that guides coding and leads to better reimbursement. So why not do your homework?

ICD-10 diagnosis codes are effective Oct. 1, 2014. Set an implementation budget and timeline. Identify ICD-9/ICD-10 differences. Say goodbye to nonspecific codes.

Medical practices are concentrating on critical changes as part of the ACA but it is important not to lose focus on the basics of coding.

Here is what your medical practice needs to know about HCPCS codes, where they fit with CPT codes, and how to understand them.

Don't miss out on easy income. Incorporating Medicare's AWV into your care plan helps both your practice and your patients.

QDC codes themselves carry no payment for a claim. However, using the codes correctly may result in a bonus payment from Medicare, and not reporting them successfully will result in a penalty.

Learn when and what CPT codes to use with prolonged services codes 99354 and 99355 at your medical practice.

Looking for the proper way to use modifier -25 at your medical practice? Here is some expert medical coding advice.

The Office of Inspector General included "identical notes" as an area of interest in its 2011 Work Plan. Make sure your patient notes reflect each unique encounter.

The Affordable Care Act added a new Medicare Annual Wellness Visit. Contrary to patient and physician expectations, it is not a physical exam.

Coding for observation services can be confounding. Currently, CPT and CMS disagree on which code to report on the second day of observation. In 2011, that is changing.

One of the thorniest coding questions is: Can a physician bill for family meetings when the patient is not present? If so, who gets the bill ?

It is important to take the time to review the rules with your staff, so that everyone understands exactly what incident-to billing requires.

2010 starts the second year of the CMS Electronic Prescribing Incentive Program.

This issue: Can you bill for student-provided services?

Tips from our biweekly e-mail newsletter. This issue: Using time to code for office visits; Who, what, when, where, and why?

Tips from our biweekly e-mail newsletter. This issue: billing for and administering medications.

Tips from our biweekly e-mail newsletter. This issue: Avoiding denials and billing multiple procedures.

Tips from our biweekly e-mail newsletter.

It's a convenience for your patients and a source of revenue for you. But how do you code and bill for minor in-office surgical procedures? Here are some expert tips.