Dermatology Coding Alert

Hint: If you have medical necessity, then get preauthorization.

Although most payers consider dermabrasion and microdermabrasion a cosmetic treatment, you can still recoup reimbursement when the patient has one of two conditions: (1) superficial basal cell carcinomas or (2) precancerous actinic keratoses.

Get Prior Authorization

If you feel the dermabrasion is medically necessary, then you should get prior authorization from your patient's payer.

All dermabrasions and microdermabrasions are considered self-pay and are paid at the time of service. Therefore, if you're going to bill an insurance carrier for it, you need to get prior authorization.

Support your claim: If the patient has superficial cell carcinomas [...]

- Published on 2011-09-09