Proper billing and coding is essential for radiologists' practices to thrive, but the process can be time consuming and confusing, according to Diagnostic Imaging.
Here are five tips for improving billing and coding for radiology.
1. Monitor medical necessity and ABNs. When Medicare will not cover services not deemed a medical necessity, an advanced beneficiary notice should be provided to the patient. The ABN can cover the technical component and professional component fee. But the professional component ABN can often be missed in logistics.
2. Stay up-to-date on dictation. When Recovery Audit Contractors and Comprehensive Error Rate Testing become standard processes, radiologists will need to properly describe the exams performed. Proper dictation can eliminate costly appeals or lengthy follow ups.
3. Review template and exam titles. Templates for documentation can be created because of high volumes of exams. These templates will need to be reviewed at least annually to make sure the CPT codes are current.
4. Communicate with your billing company. Radiology groups need to notify their billing company when changes in equipment, techniques or protocols occur. When such changes occur, templates need to be updated.
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