Despite its apparently straightforward definition in the CPT® Manual, modifier -59 (distinct procedural service) can be deceptively difficult to append properly.
CMS added modifier -AO (provider declined alt payment method) and new HCPCS codes to the I/OCE as part of the October 2013 quarterly update found in Transmittal 2763.
Our experts answer questions about NCCI edits for injections, modifier -25, modifier -59, laminotomy with insertion of Coflex distraction device, billing mammogram for needle placement, and auditing electronic orders.
HIM directors are responsible for the integrity of patients' records-even when a hospital shuts down certain wings of the facility or closes its doors entirely.
There is some common ground in the corrective action plans (CAP) that OCR has imposed on healthcare organizations it has investigated for HIPAA privacy and security deficiencies.
Also known as the "mega rules," the omnibus final rules are clarifications and finalizations of the HIPAA rules of 2003, the HITECH rules of 2008, and the incorporation of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) rules into the Privacy and Security rules. These are not sweeping changes, as many describe, but clarifications. In most cases, what are now final rules are best practices that organizations should already be following.
