Cpt 2011 Changes Your Pulmonology Practice Needs To Be Aware Of

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CPT 2011 changes your pulmonology practice needs to be aware of


While performing sleep studies to upgrade your coding style, you need to be on guard as this year there
are some big revisions for pulmonology. You should stay away from all inactive or unrevised codes.


Among the changes that took place, sleep study debuts two new codes. This year the codes for home sleep studies type III and IV now have their own category I codes: 95800 and 95801.


CPT has come up with sleep study codes for reporting unattended sleep study testing services. These codes show with a number (#) symbol to indicate that they are out of numerical sequence.


A new code 31634 for trachea and bronchi has been created to report bronchoscopy with balloon occlusion, with assessment of air leak, with the administration of occlusive substance, if carried out. The other new codes this year are 90470, 0250T, 0251T, and 0252T.


Since CPTs 0250T, 0251T, 0252T haven't been assigned any physician work relative value units, payment will be received by the facility for these ...
... services.


Apart from coming up with sleep study codes and several others, this year CPT has revised photodynamic therapy coding. As such, now you should pay attention to the documented time in case a modifier is necessary.


This time, CPT also adds various parenthetical guidelines after codes 96570 and 96571. If the pulmonologist performs 96570 for less than 23 minutes, you should report modifier 52. Apart from these, the other codes that have been revised are: 90662, 90663, and 90670.


This time, CPT also makes including the addition of three new resequenced significant revisions to the hospital observation services section codes in the subsequent hospital observation subsection. Apart from these, revisions have also been made in the hospital inpatient services, pediatric critical care patient transport, and inpatient neonatal and pediatric critical care subsections.


Here are three just-in codes that'll have an impact on your pulmonology practice's coding scenario: 99224, 99225 and 99226.


For more on this and for other specialty-specific articles to assist your pulmonology coding, sign up for a good medical coding guide like Coding Institute.