Accuracy is essential when it comes to medical billing. Incorrect codes can delay collections because claims are rejected. Plus, if you use more specific codes in your claims, you may be able to collect more than with a general code. The following CPT codes are updated ENT codes for 2022 and their modifiers.

ENT Code Ranges in 2022

The following are updated CPT codes for ENT services used in 2022:

• 31233 – diagnostic nasal/sinus endoscopy with maxillary sinusoscopy
• 31235 – diagnostic nasal/sinus endoscopy with sphenoid sinusoscopy
• 31292 – surgical nasal/sinus endoscopy with orbital decompression; medial or inferior wall
• 31293 – surgical nasal/sinus endoscopy with orbital decompression; medial and inferior wall
• 31294 – surgical nasal/sinus endoscopy with optic nerve decompression
• 31295 – maxillary sinus ostium, transnasal or via canine fossa surgical nasal/sinus endoscopy with dilation
• 31296 -frontal sinus ostium surgical nasal/sinus endoscopy with dilation
• 31297 – sphenoid sinus ostium surgical nasal/sinus endoscopy with dilation
• 31298 – frontal and sphenoid sinus ostia surgical nasal/sinus endoscopy with dilation
• 74210 – pharynx and/or cervical esophagus radiology examination
• 74220 – esophagus radiology examination
• 74230 – swallowing function with cineradiography/videoradiography radiology examination
• 92626 – first hour of postoperative status of a surgically implanted device or auditory function for surgically implanted device evaluation
• 92627 – Each additional 15 minutes of postoperative status of a surgically implanted device or auditory function for surgically implanted device evaluation
• 94728 – Oscillometry airway resistance

ENT Modifiers

Modifiers can help you to increase your collections by making your claims more specific and accurate.

• 310 – Not vaccinated against COVID-19
• 311 – Partly vaccinated against COVID-19
• 39 – Indicates any other under-immunized status

Learn more in our guide to ENT medical billing, or contact us to learn more about our ENT medical billing services.

Although your sleep center’s focus may be on the patients coming in for sleep studies, billing is also a vital part of running the practice. The following are some ways that you can maximize collections and profitability.

Tip #1

Outsource Your Medical Billing

Outsourcing your billing can help to ensure that your claims are handled promptly and accurately, which can in turn maximize your collections. Plus, hiring an external company to manage the claims process for you can free up more of your time for patients.

Tip #2

Streamline Your Collections In-House

If you prefer to keep your billing procedures in-house instead of outsourcing them, it’s a good idea to look at where you can streamline the process where possible.

Tip #3

Increase the Number of Patients

Increasing the number of patients coming into your sleep center is another way to increase your collections. In order to make time for more patients, however, you’ll also need to either streamline your in-house collections or outsource the medical billing process.

Billing is an important part of any medical practice, including sleep centers. Without it, the practice couldn’t run successfully. However, many doctors are missing out on potential revenue because they’re making some of these common mistakes.

Error #1

You Aren’t Billing the Patient Enough

Underbilling patients is a commonly made error in medical billing. Typically, this occurs when the staff handling the billing isn’t knowledgeable in all of the coding options and billing regulations.

Error #2

Your Codes Aren’t Accurate

Accurate codes are a must if you want to maximize your sleep center’s medical billing. Failing to use the right codes can delay payment or even cause the claim to be rejected altogether. If filing claims with incorrect codes is a frequent occurrence, you might end up getting flagged to be audited for insurance fraud.

Error #3

Your Claims Are Filed Late

If your claims are getting filed late, then you may miss the deadline. Failing to file within the required time frame could cause a claim to be denied, which could hurt your sleep center’s collections and, therefore, profitability.

Error #4

You Aren’t Verifying Insurance Frequently Enough

It’s common for patients to change their insurance company. If this information isn’t kept up-to-date, you could end up billing the wrong insurance company.

Error #5

You’re Using Codes That Are Too General

You could miss out on collections if the codes you use in billing aren’t specific enough. Using codes that are too general could cut into your sleep center’s profits.

Get the Most out of Your Medical Billing by Outsourcing

Hiring an external company to manage your billing for you can be a great way to maximize both your profits and your time. Outsource filing claims so that you can free up your own time to focus on your patients.

In order to successfully run your practice, it’s important for your medical billing to be as accurate as possible. This means processing claims with the right CPT codes and modifiers. The more specific the claim, the more you may be able to collect.

Cardiology CPT Code Ranges in 2022

The following are general CPT codes for cardiology services used in 2022:

• 33370 – Transcatheter placement and removal of any cerebral embolic protection devices
• 33894 – Endovascular stent repair crossing side branches
• 33895 – Endovascular stent repair not crossing side branches
• 33897 – Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty
• +93319 – 3D echocardiographic imaging and postprocessing
• 93593 – Right heart catheterization for congenital heart defects with normal native connections
• 93594 – Right heart catheterization for congenital heart defects with abnormal native connections
• 93595 – Left heart catheterization for congenital heart defects with normal or abnormal native connections
• 93596 – Right and left heart catheterization for congenital heart defects with normal native connections
• 93597 – Right and left heart catheterization for congenital heart defects with abnormal native connections
• +93598 – Cardiac output measurements
• 93653 – Comprehensive electrophysiologic evaluation
• 93654 – Comprehensive electrophysiologic evaluation
• 93656 – Comprehensive electrophysiologic evaluation
• 0623T – Automated quantification and characterization of coronary atherosclerotic plaque
• 0545T – Transcatheter tricuspid valve annulus reconstruction
• 0643T – Transcatheter left ventricular restoration device implantation
• 0645T – Transcatheter implantation of coronary sinus reduction device
• 0646T – Transcatheter tricuspid valve implantation
• 0650T – Programming device evaluation
• 0692T – Therapeutic ultrafiltration
• 0695T – Body surface–activation mapping of a pacemaker or a pacing cardioverter-defibrillator at time of device implantation
• 0696T – Body surface–activation mapping of a pacemaker or a pacing cardioverter-defibrillator at the time of follow-up
• 0710T – Noninvasive arterial plaque analysis, including data review, interpretation, and reporting
• 0711T – Noninvasive arterial plaque analysis, including data preparation and transmission
• 0712T – Noninvasive arterial plaque analysis
• 0713T – Noninvasive arterial plaque analysis, including data review, interpretation, and reporting

Cardiology Modifiers

Adding modifiers where possible can improve the accuracy of your billing and can reduce the risk of the claim getting denied for being too general. The following are recent additions to the list of modifiers:

• 310 – Not vaccinated against COVID-19
• 311 – Partly vaccinated against COVID-19
• 39 – Indicates any other under-immunized status

Learn more in our guide to cardiology medical billing, or contact us to learn more about our cardiology medical billing services.

Cardiology practices can really boost their profitability by streamlining their billing practices. One way to do this is to outsource the claims process to an external company that specializes in medical billing.

Check out these top 4 reasons why outsourcing medical billing can be profitable for cardiology practices.

Reduce Costly Billing Errors

Medical billing errors can be costly to your practice’s bottom line. Reduce the risk of such mistakes by outsourcing the billing process to a company with expertise in cardiology codes, claims, and collections.

Free up Cardiologist Time for Patients

Handling the claims process yourself can take up a lot of your precious time. The more time you have to devote to billing, the less time you’ll have for patients. By outsourcing collections, you can free up that time.

Decrease A/R Time

Outsourcing your billing can reduce A/R time by around 19 days. Medical billing companies can use their experience and expertise to process your claims more quickly and efficiently than if billing was done in-house.

Reduce Overhead Costs

Although there is a cost to outsourcing your billing, you’re also saving money on overhead costs. You can save money by not having to hire as much staff if they don’t need to handle billing. Plus, you’ve got more time to increase the number of patients you see, thereby also increasing potential collections.

Outsourcing Medical Billing

Outsourcing your billing offers a lot of benefits. You’ll have more time for more patients, you can reduce your practice’s overhead costs, and you can be confident that claims will be processed accurately and quickly.

If you’d like more information about our medical billing services, contact us today. We offer services specifically tailored for cardiology practices so that you can benefit from the expertise of our skilled billers who have the latest information regarding codes and regulations.

Billing plays a major role in the successful running of any practice. Some doctors don’t make as much as they should, however, because they’re making mistakes with their medical billing. The following are some common errors cardiologists can make with their billing and how they can be avoided.

Mistake #1: Codes Are Inaccurate

Inaccurate codes can delay collections, increasing the amount of time it takes for you to receive payment. If you don’t use the correct code on a claim, it will likely be rejected and you’ll need to refile. Repeated instances of inaccurate codes is actually a red flag for fraud. If using the wrong code is a common mistake that you make, you risk getting audited.

Mistake #2: Underbilling a Patient

Another common mistake is underbilling patients. This can happen when staff aren’t aware of all of the coding options or the correct billing rules. It’s important to make sure that your staff are fully trained on all of the latest medical billing regulations or your practice could be losing money.

Mistake #3: Your Codes Are Too General

Filing a claim with codes that are too general could leave your practice missing out on collections. The more specific you are with billing codes, the more you can maximize your cardiology practice’s profits.

Mistake #4: Claims Are Filed Late

Filing claims late can hurt your collections. There’s a time frame in which claims must be filed and if you’re late, the claim could be denied, affecting profitability.

Mistake #5: You Don’t Verify Insurance Often Enough

Another common mistake is not checking often enough that patient insurance information is up-to-date. If a patient’s insurance coverage has changed, you could be submitting claims to the wrong policy or insurance company.

Outsource to Get the Most from Your Medical Billing

Accurate and timely billing is essential to maximizing your practice’s profits. An effective way to improve your billing is to outsource to an external company that can help you get the most out of your claims.

When an aging loved one needs medical care, the focs is often on the quality of the health care that they’re receiving. However, quality of life is just as important. Here are some ways that you can improve the quality of life for an aging loved one.

Focus on Quality of Life

Especially if your loved one requires medical care, it’s easy for quality of life to be considered less of a priority. However, it’s just as important as quality of care. While medical professionals take care of your loved one’s medical needs, you can focus on ways that you can help to improve their quality of life.

Talk to Your Loved One

Most importantly, you should make sure that your elderly loved one is able to do what they want to do. Talk to them to see what could improve in their lives. Any quality of life improvement should be tailored to their needs, wants, and interests. Activities and hobbies are great, but they need to be something your loved one actually enjoys. Ask them what they would like to do or suggest options that you think they would like the most.

Keep in Touch

Staying in regular contact with your aging loved one is one of the best things you can do. Not only is social interaction beneficial for keeping your elderly relatives engaged and happy, it also affords you the opportunity to check in and make sure that everything is going well. If there are any problems with their health care or they need something, you can find out about it right away and help to get everything taken care of promptly.

Get out of the House

Many elderly people who have health problems may not get out of the house as much as they would like to. You can improve your elderly loved one’s quality of life by ensuring that they get out of the house for fun events and not just medical appointments. Organize an outing to somewhere you know your loved one would enjoy. Arrange an activity that you can do together.

Encourage Hobbies

As we age, it’s important to have something to do and to have a purpose. For many, that purpose was work or raising children, but in retirement and with their children grown, some may not be sure what they should do with their time. Encourage your elderly loved one to find a hobby that they enjoy. This will improve their daily quality of life by reducing boredom while simultaneously giving them something purposeful to do. It’s even better if the hobby involves socialization.

Spend Some Time Outdoors

Interacting with nature can help to improve quality of life. Many people enjoy gardening because it’s a hobby that is not only outdoors but also offers something beautiful for themselves and others to enjoy. Taking care of living things like plants can be therapeutic and add purpose for many as well.

Keep the Home Organized

There are a lot of things that can be a danger to an aging loved one even at home. Helping your loved one keep everything organized so that they know exactly where everything is and how to navigate their home can help to make the house safer as well as reducing anxiety for your loved one. There are organizational experts specializing in elder care who can look over the home and suggest improvements.

Arrange in-Home Care

Sometimes, our elderly loved ones require more help and care than we can give them. This is when it’s important for a professional to step in. Whether it’s in-home medical care or just assistance with daily tasks, hiring someone to care for your loved one can be a major help. Not only can your elderly loved one stay in their home instead of having to move to a care facility or other senior housing, your relationship with your loved one will improve without the stress of having to care for them. Plus, a professional can do many of those caregiving tasks better than a family member could.

Consult with a Geriatric Care Manager

You want only the best for your elderly loved one, which means that consulting with a professional is a must. A geriatric care manager can assess your loved one’s needs and help you to make sure everything is arranged. This frees up your time so that you can focus on personal interactions with your loved one instead of using up what time you have on care and organization.

Arrange Family Visits

It may be difficult for your elderly loved one to coordinate a family get-together. That doesn’t mean they don’t want to see everyone, however. Taking the initiative and organizing a family get-together can help your loved one engage more frequently with their family.

Look into Elder Care Benefits

It’s important to make sure that you’re taking advantage of all available resources to ensure that your loved one has the best possible quality of life. If there are benefits that they qualify for, make sure to apply, whether this is treatment options, financial assistance, housing, or something else.

Manage Their Finances

Managing finances can be stressful at any age. However, if you help your elderly loved one by taking on some of the financial management and consulting with a financial planner, that can help to alleviate some stress while also ensuring that your loved one’s finances are well-managed.