BUSINESS

Keep charge ticket coding and superbill format up to date

Practice Management. By Mike Norbut, AMNews staff. April 25, 2005.

A column about keeping your practice in good health

Watching a managed care company deny payments, downcode charges or bundle codes is bad enough for a physician just trying to keep up with overhead costs. But some physician charges are destined for denial before they even leave the office. The reason? Incorrect charge tickets.

While it seems elementary to keep the charge ticket or superbill updated, the task can easily be overlooked in the daily pressures of practice and the crises that always take priority.

Physicians have plenty to worry about, but consultants said the superbill should always be something to remember, whether you update it yourself or remind a member of your staff to do it. Without updated codes and a ticket that's formatted to help you find the correct diagnosis quickly, you're essentially taking revenue out of your pocket, health care consultants said.

"It's very often overlooked," said Jane Tuttle, compliance/HIPAA manager for Harvard Medical Faculty Physicians at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. "It's absolutely critical it gets reviewed annually. It can save you a lot of time on the back end."

The back end, of course, is the time spent fighting managed care companies for the reimbursement you deserve. But without correct codes, each dispute could be a long battle.

Consultants say it's imperative to review CPT and ICD-9 codes as they are updated annually to ensure the ticket includes any changes or additions that may have occurred. CPT is a registered trademark of the AMA, which develops and publishes the current procedural terminology codes.

[...]

Full text of AMNews content is available to AMA members and paid subscribers.

Access details

Join the AMA