News from the AOA's Blog

Edited by Chuck Brownlow, O.D., Medical Records consultant

It’s been an interesting month at the askthecodingexperts@aoa.org desk. Lots of great questions, including some that appeared to be facing many offices at the same time. I’ve taken the liberty of extracting some of my suggestions/responses and have “cleaned them up” for the column this month. Read the rest of this entry ?

Edited by Chuck Brownlow, O.D., Medical Records consultant

Effective Jan. 1, 2012, Current Procedural Terminology (CPT© American Medical Association) deleted 92070, the code that has been used for years to report the fitting and supply of a bandage contact lens. Read the rest of this entry ?

Edited by Chuck Brownlow, O.D., Medical Records consultant

Much has been done recently to assist providers in their relationships with insurers, the third parties of health care. Current Procedural Terminology and the Documentation Guidelines provide step-by-step guidance for accurately choosing codes to represent the services provided. The AOA offers many valuable resources to assist members in keeping good medical records and for understanding the rules related to record-keeping. Websites for Medicare and other insurers permit doctors and staff to learn rules unique to each payer. Read the rest of this entry ?

By Harvey Richman, O.D., Third Party Committee

The AOA defines vision therapy as “…a sequence of activities individually prescribed and monitored by the doctor to develop efficient visual skills and processing. It is prescribed after a comprehensive eye examination has been performed and has indicated that vision therapy is an appropriate treatment option. The vision therapy program is based on the results of standardized tests, the needs of the patient and the patient’s signs and symptoms. The use of lenses, prisms, filters, occluders, specialized instruments and computer programs is an integral part of vision therapy” (available at www.aoa.org/x5411.xml). Read the rest of this entry ?

Edited by Chuck Brownlow, O.D., Medical Records consultant

International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10 implementation is approaching. ICD has been the “law of the land” for a long time with respect to choosing diagnosis codes in health care.

ICD was originally created so that researchers would be able to use five-digit numbers, rather than long descriptions, while doing research with medical conditions. Read the rest of this entry ?

Edited by Chuck Brownlow, O.D., Medical Records consultant

2012 is here and a new year always brings Medicare changes, new ICD-9 codes, and new procedure codes. Sometimes a new year also means the end for codes we’ve used for many years. Some of the insurance companies may not recognize and adopt the changes on Jan. 1, but all providers should be aware of and implement the changes as soon as they are in effect. Most of the changes were technically in effect on Oct. 1, and all should be implemented by now. Read the rest of this entry ?

Edited by Chuck Brownlow, O.D., Medical Records consultant

As usual, Current Procedural Terminology and International Classification of Diseases—9th Edition have introduced new codes. Some insurers began requiring the new codes be used as of Oct. 1, 2011; others will begin requiring them Jan. 1, 2012; and still others will straggle along and possibly not recognize any changes until late in the first quarter of 2012. It’s usually best to adopt the new codes as early as possible, Begin using them on your claims and continue to use them unless a specific insurer clarifies that they want you to continue to use the outdated codes. Read the rest of this entry ?

Edited by Chuck Brownlow, O.D., Medical Records consultant

You’ve got just over a month to get ready for a brand-new year in practice. It’s a pretty exciting time for most of us… “Out with the old, in with the new,” “ Turning over new leaves” and all that kind of stuff. If you are at all like me though, much of the old will still be around come next April, and a lot of old habits and issues will be still be cluttering up the office.

In spite of that forecast of likely reality, here are a few things for you to consider. Read the rest of this entry ?

Edited by Chuck Brownlow, O.D., Medical Records consultant

For my first 10 years in practice, I conducted all my patients’ fundus evaluations without the aid of mydriatics or cycloplegics. During that same period, I used instruments that didn’t require topical anesthetics for measuring intraocular pressures.

At that time, the vast majority of my colleagues and I were practicing at a distinct disadvantage to ophthalmologists, who of course had the diagnostic pharmaceuticals available to them every day. Read the rest of this entry ?

Glaucoma coding will be quite different when completing claims for Medicare patients starting Oct. 1 and for all other insurers beginning Jan. 1, 2012. 

The International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) is the classification used to code and classify diseases.

For what is currently defined 365.0 in the ICD-9 codes, Borderline Glaucoma, new codes have been designated (365.01, 365.02, 365.05). Read the rest of this entry ?