There are two primary types of medical codes:
Coding is wide and deep. Most specialties use the same codes and modifiers over and over again.
Codes are a kind of short-hand method assigned to describe the conditions of a patient and the treatments applied.
ICD stands for International Classification for Diseases. ICD-10 codes are used for all diagnosis:
ICD-9 was previous revision. You may still see ICD-9 codes on older claims.
ICD-10 codes are 7 characters.
CMS required all claim submission after October 15, 2015 to use ICD-10 diagnosis codes.
Procedure codes are used to document services performed by a health care provider.
The federal government established the Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) years ago for Medicare and it’s been adopted by the entire industry.
There are two categories of procedure codes defined by HCPCS
Level I are the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT-4) codes. These are 5 Digit codes.
These are the treatment or procedure codes medical billing is mostly concerned with on CMS-1500 claims for physician services.
CPT codes are maintained and copyrighted by the American Medical Association (AMA).
CPT-4 is the current edition used for physician or other healthcare provider services.
Level II codes are maintained by CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) for non-physician services and supplies that are not covered by CPT-4 Level 1 codes.
Level II codes are composed of a single letter in the range A to V, followed by 4 digits.
CPT codes may have a 2-digit alpha-numeric modifier added to the code. For example 99203 is for and initial office visit. 99203-57 is initial office visit with a decision for surgery.
Modifiers are used when a procedure is performed differently than described in the normal 5-digit code. Modifiers typically indicate:
In Practice Management Software
On Paper CMS-1500 Claim
<< Back To Introduction to Medical Billing Page
Mar 31, 18 09:47 AM
Besides networking .. visiting their offices, how else can you attract their business? When you close the collections month, how do you bill the physicians?
Mar 31, 18 09:36 AM
I have a potential client that is requested claim scrubbing resolutions (only corrections on claims submission errors) and insurance verification on the
Mar 31, 18 09:28 AM
The provider that I bill for just advised that he has a new tax ID. What is the process for this change? Would every insurance company need to be contacted?
All-Things-Medical-Billing.com provides this website as a service. Please read our full Disclaimer and Privacy Policy here.
Copyright 2018 All-Things-Medical-Billing.com