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10/28/2024
Question: I have a patient who claims “white coat hypertension” — that is, he says his home blood pressure readings are significantly lower than the ones we get in the office. He has a home BP device, a Pressure X Pro, that connects to the internet. Can I take a reading via this device? And, in addition to adding it compliantly to encounter notes, can I claim 99091 (Collection and interpretation of physiologic data [eg, ECG, blood pressure, glucose monitoring])?
10/28/2024
Question: What codes should a coder consider for a patient diagnosed with an eating disorder (e.g., anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder)?
09/30/2024
Question: Have you ever encountered a practice wanting to bill T1016 (Case management, each 15 minutes) for a workers’ compensation visit where the case manager is present and the provider discussed the case with them? The practice wants to report T1016 in addition to the office visit E/M code. When I researched this code it appears to be for behavioral/mental health and not the work comp case manager situation. Do you have any insight on this?
09/09/2024
Question: Recently one of our providers was in the news and reporters called our office. We all refused to comment when contacted. That seemed the safest course, but now we’re wondering if we should have done something else.
08/19/2024
Question: CMS’ prolonged service code G2212 was originally based on the maximum times in the descriptors for codes 99205 and 99215. But the 2024 CPT manual replaced the minimum and maximum time ranges for the office/other outpatient codes with minimum times that the provider must meet or exceed.
 
Should our practitioners continue to use Medicare’s prolonged service times for office/other outpatient E/M visits, or should they switch to the shorter times for prolonged service code 99417 in the 2024 CPT manual?
08/19/2024
Question: We are hiring a chief information security officer (CISO). What are the top traits and skills they should have?
08/12/2024
Question: If a patient requests medical records via email and we currently do not use a secure email system, can we send it unencrypted if they agree to it?
07/15/2024
Question: Does Medicare allow CPT code 22630 (Arthrodesis, posterior interbody technique, including laminectomy and/or discectomy to prepare interspace [other than for decompression], single interspace, lumbar) and add-on code 63052 (Laminectomy, facetectomy, or foraminotomy, during posterior interbody arthrodesis, lumbar; single vertebral segment) to be reported at the same level?
07/08/2024
Question: We have some patients asking questions about Wegovy (semaglutide) coverage. In some instances they apparently want it for weight loss, but suggest they might be suffering from heart trouble in ways that lead us to believe they’re just looking to get it covered by Medicare Part D, which will not pay for it otherwise. Do we need to have a policy for this?
07/08/2024
Question: How can health care entities ensure their business associate agreements (BAA) fully address the cybersecurity risks and responsibilities related to PHI protection?

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