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DEA extends telehealth prescription waivers, puts proposed rules on hold

05/22/2023

Advocacy groups, specialty societies and medical providers praised the extension of waivers that allow practices to prescribe controlled substances via telehealth. The extension will run until Nov. 11, 2024, if a patient establishes a telehealth relationship with a provider by Nov. 11, 2023.

As masks go away, you can keep them in your practice — if you watch the law

05/22/2023

by: Roy Edroso

The PHE is over and only a few states still have a mask mandate for health care facilities. But if you want to continue to require masking at your practice, experts say you can do it — even if patients and staff object — except in certain circumstances.

After correction, review the rules for counting a test interpretation toward MDM

05/22/2023

by: Julia Kyles, CPC

Your providers can get credit for both the order and the interpretation of a test thanks to technical correction issued by the AMA on March 1. You will promote proper coding based on medical decision-making (MDM) if you make sure your team understands that the update did not change the guidelines for calculating the number of tests that the treating provider ordered, reviewed or interpreted.

Records request: Stay compliant with patients’ right of access

05/22/2023

by: Dom Nicastro

The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) reached another resolution in January during its ongoing effort to ensure the comprehensive enforcement of the HIPAA Privacy Rule’s right of access provision. To provide more context behind this important topic, Elizabeth Delahoussaye, RHIA, CHPS, chief privacy officer for Ciox Health, which provides health care data management solutions, answers a series of questions about right of access rules and policies.

You can bill 2-hour esketamine code with therapy, and with prolonged codes

05/22/2023

by: Roy Edroso

Question: Our psychiatric provider will administer Spravato (esketamine) to a patient. I know there are codes for this: G2082 (Office E/M, established patient, w/provision of up to 56 mg of esketamine nasal self-administration, includes 2 hours post-administration observation) and G2083 (... ; greater than 56 mg esketamine). But could we use other E/M codes with prolonged services instead? Also, psychotherapy may be performed prior to giving the medication — can we bill that? And should we report the drug separately?

Revenue up despite claims depression for psych, diagnostic codes

05/22/2023

by: Richard Scott

While mental health surfaced as a big topic during the COVID-19 crisis, most psychiatric evaluation and psychotherapy services didn’t see a major boost in claims. Nearly all saw a dip in utilization between 2019 and 2021, although the lone outlier grew enough, abetted by rate increases, that payments jumped more than $66 million.

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