CPT Codes

“If a Medicare patient is seen in the emergency department and then surgery is performed later that day or night, can the emergency department consult be billed with a modifier -57 along with the surgery? We have been under the impression that, at least in the office, the visit to decide to do the surgery is included in the surgical fee. Are we correct and does this apply to the encounter in the emergency department too?”

“I have been getting insurance denials for subsequent billing of CPT code 11042 after one has been previously performed. Regardless of what level of tissue is debrided, my biller is saying I can only bill CPT code 11042 every 60 days. The biller is telling me that if I debride any level of tissue within those 60 days, I should bill CPT code 97597 until 60 days have passed. Then after 60 days, I can bill CPT code 11042. This does not seem appropriate. Should we appeal?”

“We have had an influx of phone calls that are burdening our clinical hours. We have been flooded with questions that pertain to patient care, clarification of orders and home care instructions. Is there a way to bill for these calls? Each call can take 20-45 minutes for our medical assistants to complete. And we are trying to manage a full clinic at the same time.”

Can I bill for using intraoperative fluoroscopy (C-arm) to assist in hardware placement before, during and after the procedure? The images are all taken while in the operating room. If so, do I need a modifier for the code? Can I use the same CPT for the surgery with the code for the intraoperative x-ray or does it require a different CPT code? Thank you!

“Medicare sent me a letter about 6 months ago saying I bill CPT 11721 too often compared to CPT 11720 and CPT 11719. However, they consistently deny the combination of CPT 11719 and CPT 11720-59. Not just bundled, but deny both codes, altogether. That then leaves me an outlier with a bunch of CPT 11721 counted and all of the CPT 11719 and CPT 11720 denials left out of the calculations. Appeals are denied (and a waste of time and resources for $11). Their CCI indicator is 1, meaning they can be billed together with 59 or X- modifier on the column 2 code (CPT 11720). Is it fraudulent billing to code only CPT 11720 even though I am debriding 1 to 4 nails and trimming the rest? It also pays more with just CPT 11720 since it is otherwise secondary to a less-than-$11 CPT 11719 code. I hate to turn away these patients who have a true need. Recommendations?”

“The patient initially had a gastroc recession at the right lower extremity. Our surgeon performed a debridement procedure of the right foot ulceration. It was performed in the clinic, and we planned to code it as CPT 11042. However, the patient is in the 90-day post op period from the initial surgery that was performed 4 weeks ago. Is a modifier necessary to submit for payment? Is it 79?”

“My group takes “call” at our local hospital, and this necessitates seeing patients in the emergency room (ER) on occasion. We are not all in agreement regarding what E/M codes should be used in this scenario. We have come up with different encounters: 1. A patient seen in the ER. The patient is then discharged to follow up for outpatient care. 2. A patient is seen in the ER and then admitted for continued medical treatment. 3. A patient is seen in the ER and is taken straight to the operating room for surgical treatment. What E/M code series would you recommend using for these different scenarios? Thank you for the help!”

“What is the proper CPT code for percutaneous capsulotomy and tenotomy of metatarsophalangeal joint?”

“I am a young physician and the practice that I am currently at codes almost all routine foot care patients as the following: 1. Tinea ungium B35.1, 2. Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD) I73.9, 3. Pain in left toe. Documentation is all the same: “All nails are thickened, discolored, and painful with subungual debris” with CPT 11721. Basically, there is no individual nail documentation and all nails are always painful with PVD. This includes younger, disabled patients who present with some thickened nails. I was under the impression that you have to document individual nails and that pain alone is a qualifying diagnosis for nails, if used as the secondary code. My question is: wouldn’t coding only CPT 11721, with pain and PVD to all toes all the time raise red flags?”

“After watching some E/M presentations, it was suggested that hospital consultations should be billed with CPT 99252-CPT 99255. When we billed these codes, our EMR system and our clearing house rejected the codes. They are saying effective 1/1/2010, CMS has announced that they will reject these codes. Are we billing the right codes?”