2021 Laboratory Coding Update

Discover a complete solution to protect and improve revenue integrity in the face of many new codes, challenges, and trends

New CPT^®/HCPCS codes. More new PLA codes. New RAC and payer audit targets. Downward-trending payments. All of these changes and trends, along with several others, mean another high-risk year for clinical laboratories. But you can reduce the threats to your compliance and revenue by tapping into the expertise and clear, steady guidance of Robin Zweifel in this annual webcast.

Robin packs a lot of valuable how-to information into 90 minutes: in-depth interpretation, insights, and instruction pertaining to 2021 coding, payment and policy changes, as well as guidance through some of the most challenging areas for laboratories, such as date-of-service rules, drug-of-abuse testing, miscellaneous send-outs for genetic analysis and documentation issues. Also, with the evolving pandemic, several COVID-19 codes now exist that impact your laboratory services. You can trust that the latest guidance for correct reporting will be delivered. In short, it’s never been more important to make certain you’re coding and billing compliantly, and we’ll help you get there by breaking down the challenges through clear, practical instruction.

Webcast Takeaways

• Guidance through all the 2021 coding changes, including COVID-19, MAAA, and therapeutic drug assays, which impact laboratory services
• Payment changes for 2021, encompassing both the Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule (CLFS) and Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS), and their impact on laboratories
• Special help with areas of concern, confusion, noncompliance and missed revenue opportunities, including:
  • The compliance risks of stacking codes for lab panels
  • How PLA codes should be used, and the risks involved when PLA codes intersect with Category I CPT codes
  • Drug-of-abuse testing, including clarification of what a presumptive test actually is
  • Date-of-service (DOS) rules applicable to diagnostic lab tests and how to satisfy Medicare requirements
  • Strategies for protecting the revenue integrity in the face of many threats
• Extensive discussion of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA), including the definition of “applicable laboratory”
• CPT coding guidelines for drug-of-abuse testing, chemistry, hematology, urinalysis, immunology, microbiology and molecular pathology
• Recovery audit contractor (RAC) targets, including the use of add-on codes when a primary code is missing or denied
• Detailed instruction for detecting and fixing documentation weaknesses that can lead to payment denials; includes the critical difference between “medical necessity” and “medically indicated”
• Time permitting, answers to attendee questions

CPT^® is a registered trademark of the American Medical Association.

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