Coding Consult: Your Questions Answered

How Does the COVID-19 Stimulus Bill Affect Physician Payments? The bill to provide coronavirus relief has some plusses and minuses for physicians. How will it impact you?
Experts And Viewpoints, January 12, 2021
6 Big Changes Coming for Office-Visit Coding Next year, physicians may have an easier time coding for office visits -- and could even earn more money from them.
December 01, 2020
Payment for Doc-Doc Consulting; Pre- and Postvisit Coding Consulting with other physicians is common. Coding expert Betsy Nicoletti tells how to code for this and describes new coding rules covering activities before and after a face-to-face visit.
Experts And Viewpoints, October 20, 2020
New Coding Rules for 2021 In this column, coding expert Betsy Nicoletti addresses new coding rules for 2021. She also examines whether surgeons can bill for care unrelated to the surgery while doing rounds after the procedure.
September 23, 2020
Doctors' Top Telehealth Coding Questions Answered The expansion of telehealth has inspired a growing number of questions by physicians. Coding expert Betsy Nicoletti explains the steps to take when providing patient care remotely.
June 08, 2020
Telephone vs Telemedicine: Code and Bill Correctly During COVID-19 CMS says it will reimburse for telephone-based consults the same as for office visits during COVID-19. Expert Betsy Nicoletti explains how to code and bill these services properly during the pandemic.
May 18, 2020
New Billing Basics for Telemedicine With the expanded use of telehealth amid COVID-19, it's important that those who are new to it understand how to bill correctly. Coding expert Betsy Nicoletti explains.
April 27, 2020
Billing Correctly When the Words Count More Than the Action Advance directive discussions are billed differently from completing the paperwork with a patient. Coding expert Betsy Nicoletti explains the difference and also tells how to properly code for in-house x-ray services.
March 16, 2020
Screening vs Diagnostic Tests: Getting It Wrong Can Cost You The right diagnosis code for lab tests can make the difference between payment and denial. Coding expert Betsy Nicoletti explains and also describes new care management opportunities for specialists.
January 20, 2020
Patient Visit Codes Are Changing: Know What to Do to Get Paid Although CMS's plan to condense E/M codes is no more, there are major changes on the horizon. Coding expert Betsy Nicoletti explains what doctors need to know.
December 23, 2019
Getting Paid for Care After Your Patient Is Discharged You can get paid for your patients' transitional care management but you have to use the codes properly. Coding expert Betsy Nicoletti explains.
November 11, 2019
New Ways to Get Paid for Telehealth Services Telehealth services are being embraced both by patients and payers. Coding expert Betsy Nicoletti explains how to bill for this service, as well as how to get paid for telephone consultations.
October 14, 2019
Getting Paid for a Patient's Endless Paperwork Coding expert Betsy Nicoletti answers physicians' questions about reimbursement for completing paperwork and who can bill for transitional care management services.
September 23, 2019
Can You Get Paid for a Visit Without the Patient? How do you bill a patient visit when the patient isn't there? Coding expert Betsy Nicoletti explains, and also advises on getting paid for medication management over the phone.
August 19, 2019
Avoid Payment Denial for Transitional Care Getting paid for transitional care management can be tricky. Coding expert Betsy Nicoletti explains how to do it correctly, as well as how to use telemedicine for advanced care planning.
July 22, 2019
Coding Consults Correctly Physicians are often asked to consult. Coding expert Betsy Nicoletti explains how to bill properly for that service, as well as how to select the right codes for a patient's concerns.
June 24, 2019
The Critical Element in Billing Medicare for Telemedicine New telemedicine codes are great for physicians, but know the rules when it comes to Medicare patients. Coding expert Betsy Nicoletti answers this question and others for coding and billing correctly.
May 28, 2019
Yes, You Can Get Paid for Medication Management Does your practice have trouble sorting out billing for preventive/wellness visits and managing medication? Coding expert Betsy Nicoletti answers physicians' questions so they can get paid correctly the first time.
April 30, 2019
Addressing Noncovered Services With Your Patients Coding expert Betsy Nicoletti answers physician questions about encounters where you can and cannot bill the payer--but you may be able to collect from the patient.
March 25, 2019
Coding to Get Paid Enough for Wellness Visits Coding expert Betsy Nicoletti answers physician questions about coding appropriately to get optimal payments for wellness visits, plus the right way to code for a consult if you also perform surgery.
February 21, 2019