Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) Codes have become the “currency” of healthcare, mandating all manner of payments to physicians be it the most complex surgical procedures or routine office visits.
CPT codes are five-digit numbers assigned to every service a medical practitioner provides to a patient after which they are used by insurers to determine the amount of reimbursement that a practitioner will receive. These codes ensure uniformity since everyone uses the same codes to convey the same thing. However, there are circumstances when the reimbursements don’t come in.
To ensure that you do not miss out on the reimbursements, you need to have a sound understanding of CPT codes, apart from having a thorough knowledge of the latest medical terminologies, procedures and diagnosis. What’s more, you need to develop careful observation because that is exactly what can help you avoid common coding goof-ups and compliance issues.
A very important part of getting the right CPT codes is staying current. Keep yourself up-to-date with the from CPT code list. The updates come every year in January, and it’s not a difficult proposition getting hold of it; but the key is to know their correct application. Keep track of what changed and what didn’t, which code deletion is likely to affect you, how you need to handle payers that do not accept the 2009 CPT codes, etc.
That apart, modifiers can also make your coding a lot easier, and bring you the reimbursement without much of a hassle. Be on the watch for them because they ease out the complexities when you have similar conditions to code in a given instance.
So stay abreast of the latest CPT codes and keep the cash flowing in, each time, every time!
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