Laxmaiah Manchikanti, MD, chairman of the board and CEO of the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians and medical director of the Pain Management Center of Paducah (Ky.) and Ambulatory Surgery Center in Paducah, shares a best practice for more accurate and efficient coding of pain management procedures.
Dr. Laxamaiah Manchikanti: We have a departmental rule at our ASC, and that is coding should always be done by a physician because physicians are the individuals who truly know and understand thoroughly the procedure and what has been done. Relaying this responsibility to another staff member means that individual is trying to read the physician's mind. It's not rocket science, but if not careful, people can end up in jail. Physicians understand appropriately what modifiers to use, what to bill and what not to bill.
Learn more about Ambulatory Surgery Center in Paducah.
Dr. Laxamaiah Manchikanti: We have a departmental rule at our ASC, and that is coding should always be done by a physician because physicians are the individuals who truly know and understand thoroughly the procedure and what has been done. Relaying this responsibility to another staff member means that individual is trying to read the physician's mind. It's not rocket science, but if not careful, people can end up in jail. Physicians understand appropriately what modifiers to use, what to bill and what not to bill.
Learn more about Ambulatory Surgery Center in Paducah.