Coding

“My patient suffered blunt trauma to his right hallux and suffered non-displaced fractures of the distal and proximal phalanx. We are going to treat this injury conservatively. Would it be appropriate to bill CPT 28490 two times to represent the treatment of both phalanx?”

“As a general question, I am wondering if a physician documents that the patient has had symptoms for longer than a year and has failed conservative/other treatment, can this problem be considered as “chronic with exacerbation/progression”? I am referring to the verbiage in the CPT book (page 13, under Stable, chronic illness) regarding the expected duration of at least 1 year and am wondering if it is applicable in this scenario. Also, I know that a diagnosis of osteoarthritis is inherently considered “chronic”, but I am wondering if there are other diagnoses that can be considered ‘chronic’, as well?”

“What is the date that fracture care begins? Is it the date of the injury or is it the date of service when the doctor makes the decision for closed management of a fracture?”

“Outpatient surgery was performed at a surgical center. We billed Blue Cross for CPT 11750 (T5) and CPT 11730 x 3 (T2, T7, T9). But they only paid CPT 11750. And the denial reasons are: ARV – Quantity billed exceeds CMS medically unlikely edits (MUE) limit. Rebill within MUE limit if appropriate. 222 – Exceeds the contracted maximum number of hours/days/units by this provider for this period. This is not patient specific. Usage: refer to the 835 healthcare policy identification segment, if present. So my question is, what is the limit to bill for ingrown nail surgery?”

“I think it is time for this topic to resurface. Being a coder/biller for a number of podiatrists around the U.S., I am finding that some are still scheduling “annual diabetic foot exams” as a routine on all of their diabetic patients. They are then performing a “full physical exam” and trying to bill an E/M. Sometimes this coincides with callus or nail treatment, at which time they want to add the 25 modifier. Of course, I am telling them that Medicare does not pay for an “annual diabetic foot exam” and that it is not a benefit and as such should be CASH. Has anything changed?”

“Has anyone else noticed Novitas is not approving E/M codes for treating onychomycosis medically? I saw a patient for evaluation of a discolored toenail. She was concerned it might be a fungal infection and wanted to treat the condition before it worsened. I obtained an H/P, a specimen for culture and discussed treatment options depending on culture results. I billed CPT 99212 with diagnosis code B35.1. The EOB read $0 payment. Code 49 “These are non-covered services because this is a routine exam or screening procedure done in conjunction with a routine exam. Any advice?”

There was a very important question recently posted, “Since the global period for a toe amputation is now zero days, does that mean I bill for removing sutures in the office when I do a follow up visit in 14 days? Billing for this seems very uncomfortable to me.” As a Certified Professional Coder (CPC), Certified Surgical Foot and Ankle Coder (CSFAC) and as a Certified Professional Medical Auditor (CPMA), I had to mostly disagree fundamentally with a colleague’s previously posted response.

“I performed a partial 1st ray amputation that included the hallux and part of the 1st metatarsal. The site did not heal, and a new infection developed at the amputation site. The result is a return to the operating room for a right trans-metatarsal amputation. For the subsequent surgery, I used Modifier 78. After all, this was an unplanned return to the operating room. I evaluated the patient post operatively and I am wondering which date should I be using for the 90-day global period?”

“Since the global period for a toe amputation is now zero days, does that mean I bill for removing sutures in the office when I do a follow up visit in 14 days? Billing for this, seems very uncomfortable to me.”

“My practice involves a lot of wound care and I frequently take patients to the operating room for a debridement involving a wound and bone with osteomyelitis. I always code this type of procedure as CPT 11043 and CPT 11044. I feel that this is justified because I am debriding the soft tissue structures (CPT 11043) but also the bone (CPT 11044). I was discussing this with a colleague and she suggested that this might not be appropriate.”