It has been a few years since CPT has made any changes of note to the codes most commonly utilized by the phlebology practice. This has allowed us to stay blissfully unaware of the impact CPT updates can have. We wanted to bring to your attention the very important information added in this year’s edition. […]
MACRA AND THE PHLEBOLOGY PRACTICE
If you combine the current PQRS and Meaningful Use programs into one, along with a side of additional reporting, you basically have MACRA. The three performance categories are: QUALITY – Accounts for 60% of your score. This replaces PQRS. ADVANCING CARE INFORMATION – Accounts for 25% of your score. This replaces Meaningful Use. […]
OFFICE STAFF THOUGHTS
Having worked with quite a number of physicians, I know they all started up their own practice in part for the joy of having employees. Perhaps not. Below are a few thoughts in regards to the management of a practice. Hire When Stretched – One common mistake I have seen is hiring before it […]
LOCATION, LOCATION – AND OTHER INFO…
Amazingly an entire year has gone by since the first day of ICD10 and we have all survived! Some have done so better than others. I still see quite a few doctors using unspecified codes instead of the more specific code sets available to them in ICD10, and lo and behold, they have still […]
MACRA AND MIPS
This seems to be one of the hot topics this summer so I thought a quick bit of clarification would be in order for all our subscribers. Here are a few highlights to explain what these two new acronyms mean to you, the phlebology practice. 1. Currently MACRA is a proposed rule only. The final […]
DON’T BE THE NAIL ABOVE THE BOARD
The old adage of not being the nail above the board because someone with a hammer will come along is really starting to hold true for phlebology. Some bad audit scenarios are impacting phlebology practices from coast-to-coast. One practice just failed a review by Anthem Blues regarding the ablation of AASV’s (not allowed per their […]
AUDITS ON THE INCREASE
Two practices, with whom we consult, have recently had Medicare audits. Two very different results. The first practice was one with whom we had worked over the past two years doing chart audits and updates to their templates, documentation and coding. They were in a pre-payment audit and were not paid for three months. At […]
ENDOMECHANICAL ABLATION CODING UPDATE
As the above article notes, using code 37241 is not appropriate. There is, however, some good news on two different fronts for those using the endomechanical device. The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) initiated and was joined by the American Venous Forum (AVF), the American College of Phlebology (ACP), the American College of Cardiology […]
TWO US CODES; TWO DISTINCT USES
Normally a varicose vein patient’s care plan includes an US three days to one week after an ablative procedure was performed to determine if the treatment was successful and to look for any complications such as a DVT. This service has been billed with two commonly used codes interchangeably depending on the practice. By […]
BILLING FOR GRADIENT COMP. WRAPS
The question has come up that if a patient presents with ulcers or lymphedema, can they be treated with compression wraps and have it be covered by their insurance? The answer is, like everything in healthcare: it depends. HCPCS codes for Compression stockings A6531/ A6532, and Compression wrap A6545 are reimbursable codes, but only under […]