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A certified coder is the first line of defense against noncompliance and down coding for any medical provider. Certified coders can help prevent legal difficulties and ensure that providers receive full reimbursement in a timely manner. If you're a certified coder working in the urology field or private practice, the second line of defense is to earn your CPC-URO specialty credential.
Earning your CPC-URO credential will help you demonstrate expert coding skills for complex urology services. You'll learn how to bill for removal of multiple bladder tumors, residual urine by ultrasound, cystoscopy, biopsy of prostate, treatment of bladder lesions and the many other tests and procedures performed in the urinary system.
It's a good idea to underscore your expertise with the specialty credential, CPC-URO. It shows others you can answer the coding, reimbursement and documentation challenges facing urology coding professionals. With CPC-URO credentials, you can answer tough urology coding questions like these:
- Do I use modifier 59 Distinct Procedural Service or do I use modifier 22 Increased Procedural Services for multiple biopsies?
- How do I code for a transurethral resection of prostate (TURP)?
- Can knowing the difference between a stent and a catheter affect reimbursement?
- What modifiers do I use for bilateral manipulation of ureteral stones; LT Left side and RT Right side or 50 Bilateral Procedure?
- What sort of imaging guidance would I need if reporting a code for aspiration of the bladder by a trocar?
To help you with your real-life coding scenarios in urology, go to the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) online forums and ask other professional coders how they would code it, at: www.aapc.com/memberarea/forums/index.php.
Test Preparation
The AAPC publishes the 2008 Urology Specialty Credential Study Guide to help you prepare for the urology specialty credential examination. The study guide is designed to reflect the examination's structure, with extensive discussions regarding coding principles as they relate to anatomy and terminology, pathophysiology, procedures and the urology coder. Your long-term, day-to-day experience coupled with the study guide should prepare you to sit for the exam. You can find the study guide at: www.aapc.com/onlinestore/item-details.aspx?pid=5|19|82&id=314.
Specialty Certification and CEUs
Because acquiring CPC-URO relies on a vast knowledge of coding and medical terminology, to take the urology specialty exam, you must be an AAPC member and have at least one of the following credentials: CPC, CPC-H, CPC-P, CCS, CCS-P, RHIT and MD. When you pass the exam, you will have earned the credential CPC-URO or AAPC-URO, depending on whether you earned your core credential through the AAPC.
Examinations are proctored through AAPC local chapter and Professional Medical Coding Curriculum (PMCC) sites. Each examination contains 75 questions and is administered in a 5-hour, proctored, open-book setting. Each examination contains 15 anatomy/medical terminology/pathophysiology questions, 15 ICD-9-CM questions and 45 coding scenarios.
Requirements to maintain your specialty certification include 16 continuing education units (CEUs) every 2 years; this is in addition to the core credential CEU requirement. (The maximum number of CEUs is capped at 40 per year). To learn more about specialty certification, go to: www.aapc.com/certification/specialty-credentials.aspx.
Brad Ericson is director of publications at the American Academy of Professional Coders and has been writing and editing coding publications for 16 years.
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