Behind every instance of
your patients flashing their Medicare or Medicaid card is a
three-step process for filing your reimbursement. Proper coding
comprises two-thirds of the task, which is why it's important to get
the codes right. Aside from the ICD-9 (soon to be phased out in favor
of the ICD-10), practitioners have their own local codes.
Physicians use the current
procedural terminology (CPT®), a coding system maintained by the
American Medical Association developed in 1966. The CPT® is updated
yearly to include as many treatments and diagnoses as possible. The
codes evolve along with the evolution of medical technology and
recent discoveries in the field.
