Billing and Coding

Lesson 8 Notes

Textbooks for This Lesson

* Textbook: Understanding Health Insurance, 10th Edition

o Chapter 7: CPT Coding. Lessons 8 through 11 will use this chapter. You can do the textbook exercises and review as you move through these next three lessons, or wait and do them all at the end of Lesson 10. These activities are self-study, and are not sent to your instructor; nor are they graded or timed.

 Exercises 7-1 through 7-11

 All coding activities at the end of the chapter (1 through 70)

* Coding Manual: 2012 Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) Standard Edition

o Read the Introduction.

o Review the Illustrated Anatomical and Procedural Review.

o Examine the Alphabetic Index.

o Examine the Tabular List and sections of the code book.

o Examine the appendices.

o Read the notes at the beginning of the Evaluation and Management section.

Important Note to Students

The CPT is updated annually. You should always use the current CPT when coding. Currently, you're using the 2012 CPT. Occasionally, there will be some small differences between the code book, your textbook, and the lesson content. Always defer to the current year's CPT manual when guidelines or other information differs from your text or this lesson.

Topics in This Lesson

In this lesson, you'll continue to use Chapter 7 of Understanding Health Insurance as well as your 2012 Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) coding manual. We'll start with a review of the Introduction, and examine the layout, symbols, conventions, guidelines, and steps for procedural coding using the CPT. Then you'll learn about coding encounters with health care providers using the Evaluation and Management section of the CPT code book.

Introduction

So far, you've learned how to code diseases, conditions, syndromes, and illnesses for every system in the body, and you can now work through the Hypertension and Neoplasm Tables like a pro! You've learned how to code fractures, burns, and all other types of injuries from abrasions to open wounds. You've learned the Rule of Nines and how to code first-, second-, and third-degree burns. You know how to code poisonings, adverse effects, and toxic effects using the Table of Drugs and Chemicals. You've also coded personal and family history V codes, and assigned external cause codes to describe all sorts of circumstances and events that led to an injury or poisoning.

You've coded them all,