There are few distinct factors that influence your wart removal coding, and each element has a noteworthy bearing on payment. Warts are generally benign growths and, as removal is frequently viewed as a routine procedure, family practices at times assign the similar sets of codes without considering ways to capitalize on their reimbursement. The following listed questions may help coders as they assess documentation and choose which codes are most useful to assign.
1. What is the technique of removal?
Warts are nearly always removed by destruction, described in the CPT 17000 series of codes. Techniques of treatment contain cryosurgery, laser, chemical treatment as well as electrosurgery. Occasionally, in case the physician doubts that a wart-like growth might be something but a wart, the lesion may be excised and biopsied. You will find the excision codes listed in the 11000 segment of CPT and these are assigned as per the technique used, the location of the excision and, in few cases, the number of warts removed.
Family practice coders must note that in case warts and further lesions are removed from diverse sites, destruction and excision codes can be further billed on the similar date of service. For instance, in case a physician excises a growth on a patient's arm, however destroys a series of warts on the patient's foot, you can report codes from both the CPT 17000 series and the CPT 11000 series.
2. What sort of wart has been removed?
The physician should document the definite type of wart being removed as that determination could have a considerable impact on reimbursement.
As CPT 17110 (destruction by any method of flat warts, molluscum contagiosum, or milia; up to 14 lesions) as well as CPT 17111 (… 15 or more lesions) in detail mention flat warts in their descriptions, a lot of practices automatically allocate them for all wart removal. Though, three other codes, CPT 17000 (destruction by any method, including laser, with or without surgical curettement, all benign or premalignant lesions [e.g., actinic keratoses] other than skin tags or cutaneous vascular proliferative lesions, including local anesthesia; first lesion), 17003 (… second through 14 lesions, each [list separately in addition to code for first lesion]) and 17004 (… 15 or more lesions), may be allocated for common as well as plantar wart removal – and may lead to maximized reimbursement in case multiple lesions are destroyed.
3. What is the number of warts that have been removed?
The figure of warts removed may have a considerable impact on the codes assigned – and the payment. This is mainly the case when reporting the destruction of common or plantar warts, is different from flat warts.
The flat wart destruction codes, which are, 17110 and 17111, define removal of multiple warts. That means the coders would assign 17110 once once the physician does away with one to 14 warts. In case more than 14 flat warts are destroyed, coders would allocate 17111 once.
Though, CPT permits destruction codes for several common or plantar warts to be assigned several times. Code 17000 would be given for the first wart and additional code 17003 would be assigned for every following wart removed up to 14. That means that in case the patient who presented with eight plantar warts, coders will then report CPT 17000 once and 17003 seven times.
Article Source :- http://www.supercoder.com/coding-newsletters/my-family-practice-coding-alert/six-factors-affect-reimbursement-for-wart-removal-article
1. What is the technique of removal?
Warts are nearly always removed by destruction, described in the CPT 17000 series of codes. Techniques of treatment contain cryosurgery, laser, chemical treatment as well as electrosurgery. Occasionally, in case the physician doubts that a wart-like growth might be something but a wart, the lesion may be excised and biopsied. You will find the excision codes listed in the 11000 segment of CPT and these are assigned as per the technique used, the location of the excision and, in few cases, the number of warts removed.
Family practice coders must note that in case warts and further lesions are removed from diverse sites, destruction and excision codes can be further billed on the similar date of service. For instance, in case a physician excises a growth on a patient's arm, however destroys a series of warts on the patient's foot, you can report codes from both the CPT 17000 series and the CPT 11000 series.
2. What sort of wart has been removed?
The physician should document the definite type of wart being removed as that determination could have a considerable impact on reimbursement.
As CPT 17110 (destruction by any method of flat warts, molluscum contagiosum, or milia; up to 14 lesions) as well as CPT 17111 (… 15 or more lesions) in detail mention flat warts in their descriptions, a lot of practices automatically allocate them for all wart removal. Though, three other codes, CPT 17000 (destruction by any method, including laser, with or without surgical curettement, all benign or premalignant lesions [e.g., actinic keratoses] other than skin tags or cutaneous vascular proliferative lesions, including local anesthesia; first lesion), 17003 (… second through 14 lesions, each [list separately in addition to code for first lesion]) and 17004 (… 15 or more lesions), may be allocated for common as well as plantar wart removal – and may lead to maximized reimbursement in case multiple lesions are destroyed.
3. What is the number of warts that have been removed?
The figure of warts removed may have a considerable impact on the codes assigned – and the payment. This is mainly the case when reporting the destruction of common or plantar warts, is different from flat warts.
The flat wart destruction codes, which are, 17110 and 17111, define removal of multiple warts. That means the coders would assign 17110 once once the physician does away with one to 14 warts. In case more than 14 flat warts are destroyed, coders would allocate 17111 once.
Though, CPT permits destruction codes for several common or plantar warts to be assigned several times. Code 17000 would be given for the first wart and additional code 17003 would be assigned for every following wart removed up to 14. That means that in case the patient who presented with eight plantar warts, coders will then report CPT 17000 once and 17003 seven times.
Article Source :- http://www.supercoder.com/coding-newsletters/my-family-practice-coding-alert/six-factors-affect-reimbursement-for-wart-removal-article
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