Cardiology Coding Alert

At least 1 contractor offers hope when admitting physician forgets AI.If you’re still a little gun shy about letting go of strict consult coding requirements or reporting pre-op visits that used to be consults, you’re in good company.NGS, which administers Part B for Connecticut , Indiana, Kentucky, and New York, offered a Feb. 9 Medicare Part B Consultation Coding Changes conference call to alleviate confusion about consult code elimination. Here are some of the highlights.Don’t Fret If Other MD Forgets AICardiology coders, like many specialty coders, have wondered what would happen if the principal physician forgets to append modifier AI (Principal physician of record), which CMS introduced for attending physicians to use on the initial inpatient hospital care code. (For more information, see Cardiology Coding Alert, Vol. 12, No. 15,“Cross Consult Codes Off Your Medicare Options Jan. 1.”) One caller asked whether NGS intends to wait for the [...]