It has been two months since the implementation of ICD-10, so everyone has gotten a feel for the new code set. Let’s see how well you are doing in your diagnosis coding for rheumatology-specific conditions. A 55-year-old female patient presents for a follow-up visit of idiopathic chronic gout of multiple joints without tophi. She complains…
Looking Back on Rheumatology in 2015, Leaping Forward to the Year Ahead
My dear friends, we come to praise Caesar. As we march toward 2016, we ought to acknowledge the great Roman emperor’s role in creating a proper calendar. At the start of Caesar’s reign, the calendar year lasted 355 days, 10¼ days fewer than the time it took the earth to fully orbit the sun.1 Although…
How to Keep Patient Appointments Running on Time
Nobody likes waiting to see their physician. In fact, a whopping 97% of patients are frustrated by wait times at the doctor’s office, a study has reported.1 That’s a lot of unhappy patients. Fortunately, a practice can do many things to help keep patient appointments on time—beginning with proper scheduling techniques and monitoring patients’ progress…
Patient-Centered Care Model for RA Flares Could Improve Self-Management of Symptoms
A recent trend to incorporate patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in clinical research, and ultimately clinical practice, is a response to the need to better measure and treat what patients truly care about, and adapt to the changing healthcare environment, which increasingly includes patient satisfaction as a key metric for overall quality of care, a metric tied…
Understanding the Z Codes in ICD-10
Two months into the transition, the ICD-10 code set is still not exactly the most enticing reading material. But there is still so much to learn and apply, that it is necessary for physicians, coders and billers to stay abreast of the coding and billing guidelines. Although all of the guidelines and conventions may be…
10 Tips for Productive Medical Practice Staff Meetings
As a physician, you need to focus on your patients’ needs. As someone who owns or manages a rheumatology practice, you need to focus on your business’s needs. “This can feel like you’re not only wearing two different hats, but that you also have to be two different people,” says Virginia Fraser, global content specialist,…
Revenue Cycle Management in Physician Practice Improves with Staff Communication, Training
One month has passed since the U.S. healthcare system overcame a historical milestone with the conversion from billing ICD-9-CM to ICD-10-CM. Although the transition to ICD-10 had a major impact on coding operations, its far-reaching tentacles go beyond coding alone and are deeply rooted in the entire revenue cycle. There is room to criticize the…
Rheumatology Coding Corner Answer: Proper Coding for Post-Traumatic Osteoarthritis
CPT: 99213, 73500-RT, 73500-LT ICD-10: M16.52 This E/M service entailed: The history is detailed; The examination is expanded problem focused; and The medical decision making is of low complexity. The X-ray reviewed was for radiologic examination, hip, unilateral: one view for the left hip and for the right hip. M16.52—The diagnosis identifies unilateral post-traumatic osteoarthritis…
Rheumatology Coding Corner Question: Coding for Post-Traumatic Osteoarthritis
Post-Traumatic OA A 70-year-old female patient comes in for a follow-up visit for pain and stiffness in her left hip. She injured her hip in a skiing accident three years before and reports the X-rays at that time showed no fractures. Due to no obvious fracture at the time, she was given ibuprofen and advised…
Rheumatology Fellow Questions Diagnostic Utility of Patient Physical Exam
“Do you seriously want me to stand on my tiptoes?” my gruff 68-year-old patient at the VA Rheumatology Clinic asked, incredulous. “I came with a walker. I think you very well know, doc, that if I get on my tippy-toes, then I’m going to fall flat on my face.” He had a point, one that…
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