Emergency Department Coding & Reimbursement Alert

Does your chart include the required elements to stand up under audit?

If you're getting repeat denials when your ED physician interprets electrocardiograms [EKG], it's time to stop and ask yourself some critical questions, including whether the documentation meets Medicare's definition of interpretation and whether the notes clearly identify which ED provider did the interpreting and why the EKG was ordered.

Reality: One of the most frequently reported non-E/M services in the emergency department is for EKG interpretation; unfortunately, these codes are also among the most frequently contested services as well.

E/M link: A review of a [...]

- Published on 2011-10-20