News

Providers in the U.S. will soon have a specific ICD-10-CM diagnosis code for the COVID-19 virus. During a March 18 meeting, The ICD-10 Coordination and Maintenance Committee announced that it would adopt the World Health Organization code, U07.1 (COVID-19), effective April 1.

Q: Are disposable instrumentation tools, those typically used in endoscopic or cardiac procedures, considered integral to the procedure or are they separately chargeable?

Q: We are seeing an influx of possible novel coronavirus (COVID-19) patients at our facility. How can we prepare to query for COVID-19-related documentation and coding issues that are bound to come our way due to the newness of the diagnosis?

Q: An employee in a psychiatric hospital’s billing department sees a fellow parishioner’s name. He calls other parishioners to tell them that this individual is a patient at the hospital, and they share this information on a prayer chain. Suddenly, several hundred people know that this parishioner is a patient in a psychiatric hospital. Is this an acceptable disclosure?

Q: What are some of the top priorities for case managers who play roles in ensuring accurate billing at their organizations?

CMS announced blanket waivers of certain Medicare requirements to prevent gaps in care for beneficiaries affected by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) public health emergency. The agency released billing instructions and a set of Q&As.

CMS announced March 13 that it will waive the three-day stay requirement for skilled nursing facilities (SNF) in response to the outbreak of COVID-19.

Q: Are lab tests included the Comprehensive APC for observation services?

The American Medical Association (AMA) announced Friday that its CPT® Editorial Panel expedited approval of a unique CPT code to report laboratory testing services for COVID-19. The new code supports the urgent public health need for streamlined reporting of testing for the novel coronavirus.

Q: What is the difference between segmental and non-segmental spinal instrumentation?