CodingIntel

Medical coding resources for physicians and their staff. CodingIntel was founded by consultant and coding expert Betsy Nicoletti.

  • Become a member
  • E/M Changes for 2021
  • Learn More
    • What is CodingIntel?
    • Membership pricing
    • Free resources
      • Can I Get Paid
      • Nicoletti Notes
      • Everyday Coding Q&A
      • Newsletter Archives
      • NEW! Site map
  • Member Resources
    • NEW! Site map
    • Home
    • Articles
    • Coding Guides
    • Quick Reference Sheets
    • Webinars
  • Coding Education
    • Webinars
    • Courses
    • Specialty resources
    • HCC Coding Guide
  • My Account
    • Login
    • Logout
    • Manage Account

Coding for Mohs Micrographic Surgery

Mohs surgery is performed to remove complex or ill-defined skin cancer, and the procedure includes both the surgery and histopathologic examination. Both capacities are required in order to bill for these codes, and neither part may be delegated to another individual.

Let’s look at the specific guidelines for coding for Mohs Micrographic Surgery:

According to CPT®,

“The Mohs surgeon removes the tumor tissue and maps and divides the tumor specimen into pieces, and each piece is embedded into an individual tissue block for histopathologic examination. Thus a tissue block in Mohs surgery is defined as an individual tissue piece embedded in a mounting medium for sectioning.” (CPT 2021, Professional Ed. page. 119)

Repair is not included in the coding. If an intermediate or more complex repair is needed and performed, a repair, flap or graft may be reported separately.

The codes for reporting Mohs procedures have zero global days; if the Mohs physician also performs the medically necessary repair, global days may apply to the repair codes.

If a biopsy has already been done, and the diagnosis is known, do not report a separate biopsy code.

However, if a biopsy is performed on the same day as Mohs surgery because there was no prior confirmation of the diagnosis, bill the skin biopsy that was performed (11102, 11104, 11106) and frozen section pathology code 88331.  Use modifier 59 to distinguish the biopsy from the definitive Mohs procedure. Modifier 59 is used on the biopsy code, because Mohs surgery has higher RVUs, and it is reported without a modifier.

Login to view the rest of this article


Don’t have a login? Learn more about membership 

Get Unlimited Access to CodingIntel’s Online Library

Are you a coder, biller, administrator,
office manager or physician?

Learn more about the benefits of
a CodingIntel membership

click here!

Back to Dermatology Roadmap


Watch Betsy’s 60 minute on-demand webinar “Coding Skin Procedures” for a review of coding common skin procedures and correct use of modifiers with multiple procedures. Webinars are free for members. Not a member? Find out how you can watch too!


 

Last revised February 3, 2021 - Betsy Nicoletti
Tags: Dermatology, procedure coding

Looking for training on the new E/M Guidelines for 2021?

"Documentation Essentials for Codes 99202-99215 in 2021" is now available!

Take the two hour course on-demand, or sign up for one of our live events with Q&A.

Learn more

Latest Intel

Defining problems using the new 2021 office visit guidelines

The AMA has developed specific definitions for … Read More...

Chronic Care Management

•  Medicare covers chronic care management … Read More...

Essential documentation for medication management and psychotherapy

When providing both medication management and … Read More...

Insights: Changes in level of service using 2021 office visit guidelines

The American Medical Association (AMA) changed the … Read More...

Browse By Categories

Browse Content

  • Articles
  • Coding Guides
  • Everyday Coding Q&A
  • Videos
  • Can I Get Paid to
  • Blog
  • Webinars

Tags

behavioral health care management category of service CCM CMS Code sets and reimbursement Compliance compliance issues consults CPT®codes CPT® rules critical care Dermatology diagnosis coding Documentation Guidelines E/M other E/M services exam general surgery global surgery rules HCC HCPCS codes ICD-10 ICD-10-CM level of service MDM medical decision making Medicare Medicare rules modifiers new patient Physician Billing physician coding preventive medicine preventive medicine services primary care procedure coding prolonged services psychiatry risk adjusted coding screening teaching physician rules telehealth using time to select a code Wellness Visits
  • About
  • FAQs
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact

Our mission is to provide accurate, comprehensive, up-to-date coding information, allowing medical practices to increase revenue, decrease coding denials and reduce compliance risk. That's what coding knowledge can do.

In 1988, CodingIntel.com founder Betsy Nicoletti started a Medical Services Organization for a rural hospital, supporting physician practice. She has been a self-employed consultant since 1998. She estimates that in the last 20 years her audience members number over 28,400 at in person events and webinars. She has had 2,500 meetings with clinical providers and reviewed over 43,000 medical notes. She knows what questions need answers and developed this resource to answer those questions. For more about Betsy visit www.betsynicoletti.com.

Copyright 2021, CodingIntel
Privacy Policy