Cardiology Coding Alert

Coding education is the recommended fix.

Your office visits may be coming under increased scrutiny.

A recent OIG study found that physicians increased their billing of higher-level E/M codes across all categories (inpatient, outpatient, etc.) between 2001 and 2010. According to the OIG report, when compared to other specialties, cardiology ranked near the top for billing higher-level E/M codes.

Many reasons exist that could cause a practice to legitimately begin coding more high-level E/M services than in the past. For instance, the practice may have Lbegun seeing a more complex patient population with more chronic problems that require intense management. But if you aren't sure how your physicians arrive at their E/M codes, it's time to offer a quick education session at your practice. The OIG recommends coding education as the number one priority following the results of this report, and also encouraged MACs to review physicians' E/M billing patterns to avoid improper payments.

To read the complete report, "Coding Trends of Medicare Evaluation and Management Services," visit http://oig.hhs.gov/oei/reports/oei-04-10-00180.pdf.