Radiation oncology uses high-energy radiation to shrink or kill tumors or cancer cells with minimal harmful effects to healthy surrounding cells. To correctly code for radiation oncology services, coders need to understand the various elements of the treatment.
Providers were glad to see CMS' ruling (CMS-1455-R) released March 13 (published in the Federal Register on March 18), which allows full Part B payment for inpatient stays that had been denied as not reasonable and necessary. The ruling had very few details on how the process would work, but on March 22, CMS published Transmittal R1203OTN instructing contractors and providers on the details.
Editor's note: The commentary in this article was originally presented in the HCPro, Inc., February 7 audio conference, "The Pediatric Medical Record: Opportunities for Documentation Improvement." Learn more about the audio conference at http://tinyurl.com/bbh9yl5.
