Bill Dacey, MBA, MHA, CPC, CPC-I

There are two principal criteria that need to direct physicians’ code assignment once they have decided to use a TCM code.

Coding expert Bill Dacey, principal of The Dacey Group, answers viewers questions in this second installment of our Coding Q&A podcast series.

2021 EM guidelines turn some traditional 99213s into 99214s.

Bill Dacey, president and CEO of The Dacey Group, pens the popular Coding Columns on Physician's Practice. In our first podcast version of this column, we answer contributed questions on provider types, protocols, and patient behavior.

This month’s Coding Q&A features questions from a physician coding for time spent with hospital patients, and another wondering if there is another way to code for medical reconciliation outside of Transitional Care management codes.

Answers to your latest coding questions

Will physicians lose credit for assessing problems when a specialist is involved in their care? Also, documentation required to support AWV's and problem visits in the same encounter.

Should providers should include notes in an EMR so insurance companies see CC statement? CMS vs CPT Code Book hospital admission coding. Plus, a clarification on guidelines when coding for telehealth visits.

Can multiple services from different providers be mixed or combined and billed together? Also, what are the rules for adding HCC codes at the end of your note?

Can provider types be mixed or combined and billed together? And does standard advice exist for determining telepsychiatry codes for various providers?

A generalized checklist for your planning. 

Remote visits and online E&M services.

Why has Medicare separated depression and alcohol screenings, and will patients incur cost-sharing with new patient portal E&M codes?

Documents required for Chronic Care management code 99490 and fulfilling the consult requirement.

Despite crossover in forms, both represent different things.

Practices are using E&M codes to bill for non-physician educational visits, but is this ok?

Coding expert Bill Dacey clears up some confusion about split billing and combination visits.

Medicare’s new G2012 code for virtual check-ins may lead to cost savings. It could also cost patients money and potentially cost providers in patient satisfaction.

In order to justify the Level 4 E/M visit, make sure you have recorded all necessary information-and clearly label it for the payer auditor to easily find.

How to code varies on the circumstances. Many coding scenarios are determined by context-not absolutes.

How CMS’ final rule will affect documentation, time-based billing.

This month’s coding questions look at how timing plays a role with annual checkups and the stipulations that must be met for coding by time.

Coding expert Bill Dacey answers your latest coding questions, including an inquiry on why Medicare denied an initial visit claim.

Take time to clarify the midpoint rule, review CMS’s proposed guidelines for Evaluation & Management, and ask why you’re being instructed to change billing codes.