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CPT Handbook for Psychiatrists » (3rd Edition)

Book cover image of CPT Handbook for Psychiatrists by Chester W. Schmidt

Authors: Chester W. Schmidt, Ellen Jaffe, Rebecca K. Yowell
ISBN-13: 9781585621576, ISBN-10: 1585621579
Format: Other Format
Publisher: American Psychiatric Publishing, Incorporated
Date Published: April 2004
Edition: 3rd Edition

Author Biography: Chester W. Schmidt

Chester W. Schmidt, Jr., M.D., is in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Chair of Department of Psychiatry at The Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland.

Rebecca K. Yowell is the Assistant Director of the Office of Healthcare Systems and Financing at the American Psychiatric Association in Arlington, Virginia.

Ellen Jaffe is the Medicare Specialist in the Office of Healthcare Systems and Financing at the American Psychiatric Association in Arlington, Virginia.

Book Synopsis

To ensure proper reimbursement—especially in today's managed care environment—it is vital that all practitioners know how to use the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) coding system and how to document for it appropriately. Yet information about this complex system is often inadequate, making it nearly impossible to keep up with changes necessitated by the ongoing development of new treatment modalities and multiple sites of service (e.g., office, hospital, nursing home).

The third edition of this concise, easy-to-read handbook is the essential reference for mental health professionals. Marking more than a decade of experience, this practical handbook represents the collective wisdom of the APA's Committee on RBRVS, Codes, and Reimbursements and covers recent changes mandated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and changes in the way psychiatry is currently practiced and documented.

In just 8 chapters and a remarkable 12 appendixes, the authors

Based on practitioner concerns and questions, this volume makes it easy to find the right information to ensure creation of legible and carefully constructed and documented medical records—not only because good records are critical to good patient care, but because they also provide documentation for services billed to patients, verify compliance with standards set by government agencies and insurance carriers, protect against audits by payers, and provide evidence concerning the “why, when, and how” of provided services in case of a malpractice lawsuit.

Coding errors are often the cause of claims being initially rejected, slowing down payment and creating extra paperwork as well as triggering audits of billing practices by insurance carriers—this handbook will help you avoid them.

As the struggle for appropriate reimbursement continues—with payers often using the technicalities of coding and documentation to reduce or deny payments—this practical volume offers a lifeline for mental health professionals everywhere.

Booknews

New edition of a handbook designed to help psychiatric practitioners become experts in all aspects of procedural coding. The handbook reviews 24 new psychotherapy codes, explains the new documentation guidelines and single-system exam, and covers psychiatric evaluation and therapeutic procedure codes, evaluation codes, and management codes. Released as a supplement to the . Spiral wire bound. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

	Preface
	Introduction
1	Basics of CPT	1
2	Introduction to documentation	5
3	Codes and documentation for psychiatric services	9
4	Codes and documentation for other mental health services	21
5	Codes and documentation for evaluation and management services	25
6	Medicare	43
7	Health insurance issues	53
8	Putting it all together for accurate coding	61
App. A	The CPT coding system - how it came to be, how it changes	67
App. B	Modifiers	71
App. C	ECT information, consent form, and record template	73
App. D	Vignettes for evaluation and management codes	79
App. E	Documentation templates	87
App. F	Examples of relative value units (RVUs) (2004)	101
App. G	National distribution of evaluation and management code selection by psychiatrists	105
App. H	American Psychiatric Association CPT coding service and additional resources	107
App. I	Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regional offices	111
App. J	Medicare part B carriers	115
App. K	Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)	121
App. L	CPT psychiatric code matrix	127
	References	131
	Index	133