Posts Tagged CPT
In 2011, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) unveiled a new benefit to address the need for annual care for seniors. It was widely hailed as a wonderful thing for Medicare patients who previously had no preventive care unless they paid out-of-pocket for a “complete physical.” What some people overlook is that the new Medicare benefit includes no actual physical examination of any kind.
Doug Palmer is a practice management, billing and coding and revenue cycle consultant with over 17 years of experience in the industry. He was nice enough to answer some questions for our readers about his experiences and where he sees coding going in the future.
MMP: How did you get started in coding?
Doug: I started in the industry as a medical biller with a billing company in NY City. In a rather short period of time, I became familiar with the coding systems (COT, ICD-9, and HCPCS) and began to want to know more. I also wanted to know more about the overall Revenue Cycle Process. That starting point in billing led me to coding for several reasons. Aside from personal and professional development, I realized that I would be more marketable with that skill set. I was right. As I learned more and more about coding…more and more opportunities seemed to come my way.
MMP: What type of coding education and certification do you have?
Doug: I have gotten most of my education in coding “on the job”. I have attended many seminars, CEU courses, internal education opportunities with employers, etc., however, I have never matriculated into any formal or long term courses of study in coding other than a BS in Health Administration which did not specifically focus on coding. At the same time, with my CCS-P Certification through AHIMA, I have taught coding and related courses both in a formal classroom environment in several adult education schools as well as providing on site education as well as web based instruction to other coders as well as medical providers across the country.
MMP: What was your first coding consultant position and how did it come about?
As they have since 2006, the American Medical Association released updated CPT codes for vaccines last week ahead of the 2013 official code book release.
Some of the highlights of the semi-annual report:
You can learn more about the changes for July 2012 at the AMA’s Category I Vaccine Code Page
The new winner of my ongoing competition for the CMS Employee Speaker contest is Dr. Daniel Duvall, Medical Officer, Hospital and Ambulatory Policy Group Center for Medicare! During a recent ICD-10 call, Dr. Duvall spoke clearly, was easy to understand and kept my attention.
There is no one, and I do mean no one, in your medical practice who does not need to know the basics of coding. Here is why:
When staff understands how important their contribution is to the financial viability of the practice and how all the pieces fit together, they are more incentivized to perform.
