Straighten Up Your Spine Coding

Your Expert Presenter:
Margie Scalley Vaught, CPC, CPC-H, PCE, CCS-P, MCS-P, ACS-EM, ACS-OR Margie has over 22 years of experience in the health care arena. She has worked in many positions from a nurse’s aide to ward clerk and medical transcriptionist to office manager. She has over 15 years experience in orthopedic coding, billing and reimbursement issues, and has contributed many articles to the AAOS Bulletin. Currently, Margie is the Coding Content Specialist for DecisionHealth, where she authors a host of products designed to ensure accurate, efficient, and complete coding and billing among physician office coders, billers and physicians. In addition, Vaught will continue to offer consulting, auditing and on-site education services to physician practices. Margie is also an advisor on orthopedic coding to the Board of Medical Specialty Coding (BMSC) and assisted in the development of its Advanced Orthopedic Coding credentialing exam (ACS-OR). She is a member of BONES and has presented at its yearly conventions. Margie also serves as technical advisor to the Orthopedic Coder’s Pink Sheet.
Who Should Attend
This conference benefits a wide variety of health care professionals. Billing and coding staff Physicians Practice administrators Front office staff There is no limit to the number of staff from your office who can participate. One registration fee lets your entire staff listen in via speakerphone! Save money — no travel expenses!

Spinal coding is difficult because it requires a thorough understanding of the spine’s anatomy so you can match it up to the confusing terminology in the CPT manual. A prime example is the challenge of matching up arthrodesis language of segments vs. interspace.

Before the coding gives you a personal case of 724.2, sign up for this detailed 60-minute audio, Straighten Up Your Spine Coding on July 11, and learn the secrets to stress-free spine coding. Orthopedic coder extraordinaire, Margie Scalley Vaught, will give you the ‘inside’ corner on spinal segments vs. interspace. Don’t forget to have your Oreo cookies ready – it will help you visualize how your surgeon performs an arthrodesis and diskectomies – and help fortify your grafting coding selection, as outlined by American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the North American Spine Society.

You’ll also learn:

How to select a level and count the decompressions and arthrodesis. Hint: Oreos will be the key for this correct counting.

The best ways to code cages and bone grafts – and whether they can be reported multiple times.

The latest on X-Stop, disk replacement, annuloplasty and VAX-D coding and documenting. Discover key carrier issues and noncovered situations that help you pick the right Category I or Category III CPT codes.

When you can bill the patients directly for the newer procedures and how to make sure you have the right waivers.

You get – in the presentation and the handouts – authoritative references to the American Medical Association’s CPT manual, CMS, the AAOS and NASS. Margie points out where official guidelines differ – and how that affects your coding/billing.

You also get a chance to phone Margie live to ask your own questions, as well as to listen in as she helps resolve some of the many coding troubles your fellow orthopedic coders face when reporting those tricky spine procedures.

Sponsors:

CEUs:
Approved for 1 CEU (ACS-OR, SCP-OR)	Approved for 1 CEU

To find out about upcoming conferences and for a complete listing of audio CDs, please visit www.decisionhealth.com.

One registration fee lets your entire staff listen in! Save money - no travel expenses!