Cardiology billing departments and practices that are not properly implementing the 2009 cardiology billing and coding changes will pay for it with lower collections and higher days in AR.
Not since the mid 90's has cardiology seen such significant coding and billing changes as have been put in place in 2009.
Cardiology practices were hit harder than the average physician by this year's changes (with a 2% reduction in Medicare fees instead of the 1% increase seen by the average physician) driven in large part by changes that will impact imaging performed in the office.
Keep in mind the 2% reduction is an average number. Some practices will be well above this (especially heavy users of echo services) and others will actually see fee increases.
Some of the 2009 cardiology coding changes are:
- All of the codes previously used to submit charges for implanted device follow-up have been deleted and replaced with new codes. Not only have the old codes been replaced, but they have been replaced with a more updated code set that provides codes for checks of devices with leads in 3 chambers, codes specific to a remote (internet) device check, codes for following ICM devices, codes for periprocedural checks, etc.
- 30 and 90 day global periods are now in place for follow-up for some devices. Also, the new codes are specific to either an interrogation evaluation or a programming evaluation. The codes are no longer dependent on whether reprogramming occurred.
- Wearable cardiac telemetry devices (for instance Cardionet type service) now have specific codes. You no longer bill with an unlisted code. These new codes include the complication of global periods.
- The echo services are also seeing new codes. When you do an echo with a Doppler and color flow you'll have a new code to submit that bundles these services into one code. The same is true for a new stress echo code that bundles the stress test code and stress echo into one code.
As the examples above demonstrate, the magnitude of this year's cardiology billing changes are more significant that has been seen in recent years. Without proper education, cardiology billing training, software upgrades and billing resources cardiology practices may see marked reductions in collections and increases in AR.
Copyright 2009 by Carl Mays II
Not since the mid 90's has cardiology seen such significant coding and billing changes as have been put in place in 2009.
Cardiology practices were hit harder than the average physician by this year's changes (with a 2% reduction in Medicare fees instead of the 1% increase seen by the average physician) driven in large part by changes that will impact imaging performed in the office.
Keep in mind the 2% reduction is an average number. Some practices will be well above this (especially heavy users of echo services) and others will actually see fee increases.
Some of the 2009 cardiology coding changes are:
- All of the codes previously used to submit charges for implanted device follow-up have been deleted and replaced with new codes. Not only have the old codes been replaced, but they have been replaced with a more updated code set that provides codes for checks of devices with leads in 3 chambers, codes specific to a remote (internet) device check, codes for following ICM devices, codes for periprocedural checks, etc.
- 30 and 90 day global periods are now in place for follow-up for some devices. Also, the new codes are specific to either an interrogation evaluation or a programming evaluation. The codes are no longer dependent on whether reprogramming occurred.
- Wearable cardiac telemetry devices (for instance Cardionet type service) now have specific codes. You no longer bill with an unlisted code. These new codes include the complication of global periods.
- The echo services are also seeing new codes. When you do an echo with a Doppler and color flow you'll have a new code to submit that bundles these services into one code. The same is true for a new stress echo code that bundles the stress test code and stress echo into one code.
As the examples above demonstrate, the magnitude of this year's cardiology billing changes are more significant that has been seen in recent years. Without proper education, cardiology billing training, software upgrades and billing resources cardiology practices may see marked reductions in collections and increases in AR.
Copyright 2009 by Carl Mays II
About the Author:
Make sure your practice is ready for for these significant Cardiology Billing changes by visiting the Cardiology Billing Partners website (www.cardiologybilling.com). Stay informed of the most recent cardiology billing and coding news at the Cardiology Billing Blog.
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