CPT Coding Tips
New CPT codes for the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Novavax Inc. were released by the AMA and will be put in use pending approval or an emergency use authorization (EUA) from the Food and Drug Administration (AMA, 2021).
Four telehealth CPT service codes have been removed from the final CMS Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. CMS issued a notice to clarify that the four CPT codes were added by accident due to technical errors (CMS-HHS, 2021).
The AMA released technical corrections to the E/M services guidelines on March 9, 2021. The corrections are retroactive to the January 1 implementation date of the updates (AMA, 2021).
The Refresh With YES: CPT Respiratory Anatomy & Scopes Learning Path teaches learners about the functions and anatomy of the respiratory system, as well as how to code various procedures performed on the respiratory system.
The AMA has released codes for the Janssen Pharmaceutica COVID-19 vaccine and vaccine administration (AMA, 2021). As this is a single-dose vaccine, only one administration code is necessary.
The outbreak of COVID-19 led to many unprecedented changes for the healthcare industry. Review this collection of latest COVID-19 news, coding guidelines, and other resources to ensure your coding team stays compliant.
The American Medical Association (AMA) announced 2021 CPT code set changes, with the organization stating 329 editorial changes, 206 new codes, 54 deletions, and 69 revisions (AMA, 2020). Many of the editorial changes are the result of the 2021 E/M office visit code revisions.
The Final Rule for the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) for calendar year 2021 was published in the Federal Register on December 29, 2020 (Federal Register, 2020). A synopsis was featured in an earlier article, “2021 Outpatient Prospective Payment System Final Rule: See the Updates.”
Of all the patients who have recovered from COVID-19, 5-15% suffer from lingering symptoms that persist weeks and even months after they test negative for COVID-19. To help these recovered patients deal with their lingering symptoms, some healthcare organizations have developed post COVID 19 recovery programs.
The American Medical Association (AMA) released new codes for the anticipated COVID-19 vaccine from AstraZeneca and University of Oxford (AMA, 2020). The codes will be available for use pending the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) emergency use authorization for this vaccine.