Healthcare Industry Articles

Welcome to our news and healthcare industry updates. Here you will find information relevant to medical billing and coding, including important news and updates from AMA, CMS, and other Medical industry authoritative resources.

Please check back frequently as new updates are made bi-monthly.

How to Interpret the SDoH Assessment Appropriately

How to Interpret the SDoH Assessment Appropriately

February 26, 2024

2024 brought new HCPCS codes that Medicare, Medicare Advantage and some 3rd-party Commercial plans that they will now pay for. One of those codes is the G0136; that is the …

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Telehealth

Telehealth Fact Sheet and E/M Tips for 2024

January 4, 2024

As we all know the PHE, public health emergency, ended on May 11th, 2023, but the confusion on how to report Telehealth services continues to live on. When Medicare published …

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Pre-Op Visits vs. Pre-Op Clearance Visits: Which Are Billable?

Pre-Op Visits vs. Pre-Op Clearance Visits: Which Are Billable?

August 28, 2023

A question comes up often regarding billing for pre-op visits. Should we? Or shouldn’t we? There is conflicting published guidance on this question from different sources. First, this depends on …

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prescription drugs

Prescription Drug Management: The Moderate Risk element of E/M Coding

May 19, 2023

Appropriate documentation of prescription drug management continues to be an opportunity for many physicians. Doctors need to know that simply adding the current medication list to the progress note is …

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OCR Issues a 90-day transition for HIPAA Compliant Telehealth Platforms

OCR Issues a 90-day transition for HIPAA Compliant Telehealth Platforms

April 26, 2023

Under the PHE (Public Health Emergency), non-HIPAA compliant platforms (like smartphone applications FaceTime and Skype) were allowed as long as they were not public facing (i.e., TikTok, Vimeo, etc). But …

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Breaking News

(PHE) Public Health Emergency set to end on May 11th

February 6, 2023

An announcement on Monday, January 30th, by the OMB (Office of Management and Budget), and the White House, stated that they plan to end the COVID-19 national emergency and public …

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Tell me about acroynyms

Medical Acronyms You Need To Know!

September 9, 2022

In this climate of texting and wanting quick results for everything from ordering your lunch, to ordering medical tests, to attending a meeting with a speaker who uses a lot …

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CPT

What’s changing with the new 2023 AMA CPT E/M update?

July 15, 2022

Physician practices have been trying to keep up with all of the recent changes that have been made to the Evaluation and Management Codes over the past 2 years in …

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Questions and Answers

2nd Quarter 2022 Blog – Coding Corner Q&As

June 27, 2022

When you need answers to coding, billing, and reimbursement questions, who do you turn to? I am sure it isn’t Ghostbusters!. If you are a Coding Corner member or Executive …

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Public Health Emergency

PHE Extended But Some Waivers Expired

April 25, 2022

The PHE was renewed another 90-days effective April 16th, 2022, but what 1135 waivers expired? Renewal of De​​termination That A Public Health Emergency Exists As a result of the continued …

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Renewal of Determination That A Public Health Emergency Exists

Renewal of Determination That A Public Health Emergency Exists

October 19, 2021

As a result of the continued consequences of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, on this date and after consultation with public health officials as necessary, I, Xavier Becerra, Secretary …

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Are you a HIPAA entity? The “Privacy Law” is probably not what you think.

September 10, 2021

If you have heard the acronym HIPAA thrown around a lot lately, you are probably thinking, “Do I know what HIPAA means?”. So many are throwing that term around in …

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Breaking News

Renewal of Determination That A Public Health Emergency Exists

July 19, 2021

As a result of the continued consequences of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, on this date and after consultation with public health officials as necessary, I, Xavier Becerra, Secretary …

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Questions and Answers

Answers to AMA/CPT® 2021 E/M Documentation rules and Errata Clarifications

May 17, 2021

Ever since the release of the new 2021 Evaluation and Management (E/M) guidelines for Office and Other Outpatient Services, ICD10University has been conducting numerous provider and staff educational training sessions …

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Telehealth, Now and after PHE

March 11, 2021

As we are now well into 2021, and over 12-months from the beginning of the first announced PHE (public health emergency), the past year has been a whirlwind of medical …

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Telehealth spotlight and post-pandemic Medicare audits

May 21, 2020

Over the past several weeks, we have seen unprecedented changes to rules, edits, and other measures traditionally put in place to stave fraud, waste, and abuse in the healthcare industry. …

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Breaking News

Urgent Telemedicine update from CMS and the White House

March 17, 2020

COVID-19 Regulatory Alert: Medicare Telehealth Services Restrictions Lifted Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued guidance on Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar’s waiver authority …

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Terry Fletcher Consulting, Inc. - Taking the Business of Medicine to the next level

Modifier 22 Letter

October 18, 2019

As promised, below is my Modifier 22 Letter to assist in appealing claims: when the procedure or surgery was an “increased procedural service” and the reimbursement on the fee schedule …

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