Practice Management

Ob/gyn patients undergo ultrasounds for a number of reasons. Because of the small variety of closely related U/S codes, successful billing for more than one U/S depends on the diagnosis and documentation.

Although CPT 2002 introduced specific new codes for fine-needle aspiration (FNA), those codes didn't clear up much of the confusion about how they apply.

Coding and reimbursement for Medicare well-woman screening exams is one of the biggest challenges in ob/gyn coding. You must know whether a patient meets Medicare's criteria for "high risk" or "low risk." This risk factor determines the frequency with which Medicare pays for well-woman care.

Can you get insurers to pay you for a procedure like endometrial biopsy performed at the same time as a problem-oriented visit? Sometimes. Be sure to bone up first on the intricacies of proper coding.

Who should undergo genetic testing? Before ordering it, three conditions should be met: There should be a greater than 10% likelihood of a positive test; the ordering physician should be able to interpret the result; and the information should be used to make management decisions.

While family planning clinics are hailing the FDA's recent approval of mifepristone (RU-486) as a noninvasive way to terminate an unwanted pregnancy, ob/gyns who decide to administer the drug need to familiarize themselves with the research on its advantages and disadvantages.