Wound care physicians are frequently astonished at “How tons of documentation in a patient’s healthcare record can result in a precarious situation?” Documentation issues related to wound care billing procedures are many; however, jotting down the right codes with eligible codes should be the priority.
However, physicians and facilities need to be aware of the implications of coding. As healthcare data turns increasingly digital; through initiatives such as meaningful use, coded information not only impacts reimbursement but also is progressively used to represent the quality of care provided.
The ability of a wound care facility to obtain reimbursement is essential for its financial success. By ensuring proper documentation, providers can work with specialty wound care billers and coders so that facilities receive the reimbursement they deserve.
Here’s a closer look at how documentation and coding work in the context of wound care:
Documentation for Coding and Billing of Wound Care
Wound care procedures represent a major portion of reimbursement in terms of income for physicians and hospitals, according to the latest reports. In numerous facilities, from a coding and billing viewpoint, payment /repayment for wound care administrations is an extraordinary challenge. Avoiding perplexity is vital, particularly regarding the documentation of particular wounds.
From a coder’s point of view, “wound care” includes wound treatment and additional evaluation and management (E/M). The issue being referred to is, that of the national correct coding initiative (NCCI) alters. Whenever E/M administrations are performed alongside procedures, and when they are incorrectly charged and documented raises an issue.
This incorporates facilities expecting to be paid separately for every administration performed (such as debridement) alongside an E/M service, even though debridement current procedural terminology (CPT) codes 97597 or 97598 include wound assessment and evaluation, paring and cutting of nails, Unna boot usage, and negative pressure wound therapy visits at the clinic when procedures are not performed.
Additional Coding and Documentation issues to overcome in wound care billing:
- Unseemly utilization of modifier 25 (regardless of whether there is an independently billable administration);
- Utilization of hyperbaric oxygen when all other injury administration modalities have failed not joined by doctor orders for the procedures (and if they are absent for claims processing, the claim can be denied);
- Absence of or ineffectively documented wound measurements (this essentially impacts repayment, and if wound measurements are not documented for claims handling, the claim can be denied);
- Confounding selective & nonselective debridement;
- Coding and billing for multiple layers of wounds per site instead of coding the deepest layer for debridement need precise documentation such as bone and muscle debridement cannot be coded together for the same site.
- Coding E/M levels for cases requiring G0463 for Medicare-specific cases; and
- Coding dressing of wounds separate from an E/M service.
Following the above documenting and coding regulation, wound care facilities can streamline the entire operations as well as the income cycle. Plus, utilizing the services of dedicated and certified medical billing and coding company will ensure each claim processed has been precisely documented for reimbursement.
