Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

Signs and symptoms may sometimes be your best choice. Choosing the right CPT procedure code is the first step to ensure your physicians get paid for the work they do, but if you fail to attach the correct diagnosis code, you may be in jeopardy of receiving denials. Follow these expert recommendations to ensure you're properly coding patients' signs, symptoms and diagnoses. Watch for 4th- and 5th-Digit Requirements Correct coding requires that you code as specifically as possible. That means your physician should assign the most precise ICD-9 code to a service. You cannot justify a service with a four-digit diagnosis code when carriers or ICD-9 requires a more specific five-digit code to describe the patient's condition. Using the fourth or fifth digit when it is required -- or just when you do have that information -- is an important concept to follow. Make sure you review the entire record when determining [...]