SAN DIEGO-In order to remain compliant, as well as to receive fair and appropriate reimbursement, you must code and document correctly, said Michael Setzen, MD, Clinical Associate Professor of Otolaryngology at NYU School of Medicine and Senior Clinical Attending in Otolaryngology at North Shore University Hospital in New York, when he moderated the panel discussion, How the Experts Code and Document Laryngology and Esophagology in the Office and the OR, at the April 2007 Combined Otolaryngology Spring Meeting.
Explore this issue:
August 2007Furthermore, you must show medical necessity and use correct CPT codes that match the congruous ICD-9 codes, continued Dr. Setzen. Otolaryngologists need to understand that proper coding is not only necessary for reimbursement, but that it will also assist them in the validity of their claim, should they ever be audited.
As he showed a slide of a jail cell versus a stack of money, panelist Clark Rosen, MD, Director of the University of Pittsburgh Voice Center and Associate Professor of Otolaryngology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, stated, This image is what should guide you, not paying off your car or overhead. You must code in an ethical and appropriate fashion to avoid having someone come and knock on your door asking for a payback.