General Surgery Coding Alert

The sheer number of national Correct Coding Initiative edits that affect general surgeons in version 7.2  is perhaps the best reason to subscribe to CCIs quarterly updates.
 
If you perform more than one procedure during the same session, you have to check if they are bundled. The only way to do that is by having the most recent edition of the CCI, says Susan Callaway, CPC, CCS-P, an independent coding and reimbursement specialist and educator in North Augusta, S.C. Relying on an older edition of CCI is like using an old CPT. Maybe worse. You dont know when the CCI will add hundreds, or even thousands, of new code pairs. She notes that the large number of code pair changes introduced in version 7.2 illustrate that changes from version to version may be so extensive that writing in corrections would be too difficult.
 
When billing Medicare carriers, CCI is absolutely essential, Callaway says. Usually, codes that are bundled shouldnt be billed together [unless a procedure is staged or was performed at a separate site or a different time, in which case the correct modifier should be used to let the carrier know]. If you continue to bill bundled procedures, you may add a red flag to your record because Medicare assumes that you knew about the edit and were trying to bill for something you shouldnt, she says.
 
Note: For a subscription to CCI, available in printed or CD-ROM format, call the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) at 1-800-363-2068.