var












get-fans-468x60 Referral Banner

Saturday, October 18, 2014

The Complications Of Medical Billing Are Made Easier By The System Of Cpt Codes

By Patty Goff


Medical billing is a complicated position that requires training. There are a myriad of procedures, medications and illnesses with difficult to spell names. A coder must know the Current Procedural Terminology, known as the cpt codes to function in that position.

Experts sitting on a panel, the CPT editorial panel, oversee the administration of the coding. Of experts exists called the CPT Editorial Panel. They work under the auspices and direction of the AMA. There is a copyright owned and protected by that august organization.

The coding system was devised to facilitate clarity in the communications sent from one medical expert to another department. There are separate ones to identify surgical procedures, diagnostic services and general medical procedures.

ICD-10 coding identifies the illness or condition a patient is suffering from. Three types of CPT code exist, identified as Category I, Category II and Category III. In Category I you will find six sections. Some examples of Category I are Office or outpatient, Critical care and Home health care services.

They are item specific. One category applies to the administration of anesthesia. Each body part that is being operated on uses a separate code. Some examples include the extremities, the head and the eyes.

Individual numbers assigned to surgical services may include pelvic, reproductive system and auditory system. To make the billing very specific, a cochlear implant surgery is classified under auditory system. Billing is rendered less complicated when used in the bills sent out to the patient.

There are those for radiology, which include treatments of radiation oncology, mammograms and ultrasound tests. Pregnant women can be reassured that the baby is healthy. It is often possible to identify if the baby is a boy or girl.

Another category is pathology and laboratory. Drug testing, a simple urinalysis and various testing of the blood fall under this category. Transfusions are included. The postmortems, also known as autopsies, are classified here.

Routine vaccinations, administration of immunizations and kidney dialysis treatments fall under the numbers for medicine category. When someone has severe kidney disease, the dialysis keeps that person alive until a replacement kidney is matched to their blood type. A kidney transplant will relieve them of the need for dialysis.

This same classifications for medicine include psychiatry, special otorhinolaryngologic services and noninvasive vascular diagnostic studies. The otorhinolaryngologic specialist is also known as an ear, nose and throat man or woman.

Numbers in Category II have four numbers followed by an alphabetical letter to identify them. This classification contains eleven codes. Included are routine physical exams, diagnostic screenings and taking the patients medical history.

Under Category III you will find the ones for psychotherapy and other counseling services. From time to time codes are retired. This year will not see a change in the psychological testing code. Each year they are re-evaluated.

Although the AMA is the owner of both the registered trademark and the copyrights to the CPT code, they share it with other medical facilities. Some are The Federal Register and the organization that bills for Medicare and Medicaid. Each is required to pay for a license that entitles them to use it. It makes their billing systems run smoothly.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment

Thank You.

Hello, How are you doing? I am using this opportunity to inform you that the business that we both are working on before has been finally...