Dermatology Coding Alert
Correction
PDF
The January 2005 Dermatology Coding Alert article "Get Ready to Change Your Lesion Destruction Reporting" stated that NCCI 11.0 edits included several mutually exclusive edits for codes 17000 (Destruction [e.g., laser surgery, electrosurgery, cryosurgery, chemosurgery, surgical curettement], all benign or premalignant lesions [e.g., actinic keratoses] other than skin tags or cutaneous vascular proliferative lesions; first lesion) and 17004 (Destruction [e.g., laser surgery, electrosurgery, cryosurgery, chemosurgery, surgical curettement], all benign or premalignant lesions [e.g., actinic keratoses] other than skin tags or cutaneous vascular proliferative lesions, 15 or more lesions).
The article should have stated that these once mutually exclusive bundles were deleted by the NCCI, according to version 11.0.
Dermatology Coding Alert
- NCCI 11.1 Update:
Add a New Layer to Your Intermediate Repair Claims
Deletions in the most recent round of edits may pleasantly surprise you When your dermatologist [...] - Billing Tip of the Month:
Follow These 6 Steps to Stay On Top of Your Denials
Face your fears and grab the denials bull by the horns If you establish a [...] - Correction
The January 2005 Dermatology Coding Alert article \"Get Ready to Change Your Lesion Destruction Reporting\" [...] - Longer Face-to-Face Time May Justify Higher Pay
If you report add-on codes, make sure to report an E/M code and avoid denials [...] - You Be the Coder:
Punch Biopsy - Choose Excision or Not
Question: Our dermatologist recently performed a millimeter punch biopsy that removed the entire lesion from [...] - Face-to-Face Time Is Cumulative, Not Continuous
Here\'s a claim example that should help ease your prolonged service cases Just because your [...] - Reader Questions:
Complex Lesions Justify Larger Lesion Codes
Question: Would you clarify the difference between a simple and complex incision and drainage (10060 [...] - Reader Questions:
Report E/M Codes for Burn Self-Treatment Advice
Question: A physician diagnoses a patient with a second-degree burn on her right palm (944.25). [...] - Reader Questions:
Be Careful- Excisions May Stump Cauterizations
Question: A patient presents for a follow-up of an ingrown toenail. The physician finds that [...] - Reader Questions:
Avoid Foreign-Body Removal Snafus
Question: To bill for removal of a foreign body, the physician must perform an incision, [...] - Reader Questions:
Depth Impacts Debridement Code Choice
Question: A patient came to our dermatology practice with infected decubiti on two sites that [...] - Reader Questions:
New Problems During a Preventive Exam? Read On
Question: A new patient presented for a preventive exam. The patient also had three complex [...]