Neurology & Pain Management Coding Alert

Agency combed everything from injections to consulting agreements. The Office of the Inspector General (OIG), in its semiannual report to Congress issued on Dec. 3, 2008, reports it recovered more than $20 billion in fiscal year 2008 -- much of which reflects dollars recouped from physicians who billed improperly. The report lists several audit and investigation highlights that allowed the OIG to recover such huge amounts of money. Among the many surprises that may impact your facility, the OIG found that 63 percent of facet joint injection claims did not meet program requirements, for a total of $96 million in Medicare overpayments to physicians. The top errors that the OIG found in this category -- documentation errors and billing add-on codes for bilateral injections -- are unfortunately fairly common among doctors that provide these types of injections, says Randall Karpf with East Billing in East Hartford, Conn. You can be certain these are [...]