“When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.”
Henry Ford’s quote couldn’t be truer than in the healthcare industry at an economic juncture that may well be the most challenging for us all.
In discussion hubs and social media circles, an often discussed matter among medical coders & billers are the challenges of taking their career to a higher level and of staying ahead of the competition.The person best equipped for the job will be able to save it and have more career advancement opportunities and a bigger paycheck.
But how do you do just that?
Make that decision to invest on yourself — in training and education for YOUR professional growth.
Other than the highly-popular Certified Professional Coder (CPC®) Credential are other certifications that put you a notch higher than a non-certified counterpart. If you have been a medical coder for at least a couple a years and feel as if you are not making any headway, a Certified Orthopaedic Surgery Coder (COSC™) Credential could just be what you need to help you get ahead.
A COSC™ is an AAPC seal that states you are a cut above the rest. This is why coders all over the country aspire for this gold standard. It is an industry-recognized prerequisite to boosting your career as coder!
We at CodingCert bring you closer to this standard of excellence. Gather your colleagues to host a 3-day onsite camp in your facility!
What is an On-Site Training Camp?
The On-Site Training Camp is an intensive 3-day course where CodingCert customizes a program and brings a speaker directly to your office. You and your team can prepare for the certification exam from the comforts of your facility.
Our AAPC-certified instructors will give you the roadmap so your Team can pass the COSC™ Exam on your first 1st try by preparing you to hurdle the following:
- Ability to read and abstract physician office notes and procedure notes to apply correct ICD-9-CM, CPT®, HCPCS Level II and modifier coding assignments
- Evaluation and management (both the 1995 and 1997 Documentation Guidelines)
- Rules and regulations of Medicare billing including (but not limited to) incident to, teaching situations, shared visits, consultations and global surgery
- Coding of surgical procedures performed by orthopedists such as arthroscopic surgeries, fracture repairs, spine surgeries, etc.
- Medical terminology
- Anatomy and physiology
CPT® 2012 Review: Equip Yourself with New Codes Revisions for Orthopedic Practice
Find out why this info could be useful for your COSC™ exam.
Updating your understanding about new CPT® codes and revisions is imperative because it helps you report your claims correctly and earn your deserved dollars. When CPT® 2012 debuted in Jan. 1, four ortho procedures gathered a few new added codes. Here’s a summary of what to look out for before submitting your claims:
1. 20527 for Palmar Enzyme Injection
Say the surgeon sees a patient with Dupuytren’s contracture, a painless thickening and contracture of tissue beneath the skin on the palm of the hand and fingers. The patient complains of difficulty to extend or straighten his fingers.
In the past, more severe contracture cases were treated via surgery to release the contracted fascia and other soft issues. Presently, providers are choosing the collagenase injection approach to treat the condition, wherein they administer the injection locally into the scarred or fibrous tissue. The enzymes, then, breakdown the fibrosis and ease the contracture. CPT® 2012 has provided a new code for this procedure: 20527 (Injection, enzyme [e.g., collagenase], palmar fascial cord [i.e., Dupuytren's contracture]).
2. 22633 and +22634 for Lumbar Arthrodesis
When the surgeon performs an arthrodesis via a posterior approach in single interspace of the lumbar segment, you should report it with 22633 (Arthrodesis, combined posterior or posterolateral technique with posterior interbody technique including laminectomy and/or discectomy sufficient to prepare interspace [other than for decompression], single interspace and segment; lumbar). For every additional interspace or segment, you report +22634 (…each additional interspace and segment [List separately in addition to code for primary procedure]).
3. 29582 and 29584 for Limb Compression
The application of wound compression systems has become more site-specific in 2012. Usually, a surgeon would perform venous compressions for varicose veins, postphlebitis syndrome, atherosclerosis, chromic venous hypertension, or stasis ulcers in the limbs. Use new codes 29582 (Application of multi-layer compression system; thigh and leg, including ankle and foot, when performed) for compression in the lower limb, and 29584 (…upper arm, forearm, hand, and fingers) for that in the upper limb.
4. 0274T and 0275T for Percutaneous Spinal Procedure
When the surgeon performs a percutaneous, fluoroscopic, or endoscopic unilateral/bilateral laminotomy/laminectomy to decompress the neural elements, you would report 0274T (Percutaneous laminotomy/laminectomy [intralaminar approach] for decompression of neural elements, [with or without ligamentous resection, discectomy, facetectomy and/or foraminotomy] any method under indirect image guidance [e.g., fluoroscopic, CT], with or without the use of an endoscope, single or multiple levels, unilateral or bilateral; cervical or thoracic) for cervical or thoracic spine; and 0275T (…lumbar) for the lumbar spine.
Quick fact: CPT® codes 0274T and 0275T are classified as Category III codes. These are temporary codes for emerging technology, services and procedures.
Don’t forget to keep this information handy when you take Certified Orthopaedic Surgery Coder (COSC™) exam this year. Aside from application of new CPT® codes, you will also be tested on coding of other surgical procedures performed by orthopedists including arthroscopic surgeries, fracture repairs, and spine surgeries. If you want a COSC™ call our certification specialists today at tel. no. 866-458-2962.
