Things to Remember for Internal Medicine Practices

You may find that there is confusion between family physician and Internal medicine physicians. The confusion arises because of the treatment of adult patients. Most of adult patient treatments are carried out by family physicians while Internal medicine physicians only treat adults. However, there are some notable differences between internal medicine and other specialties. In this article, lets understand more about various things to remember for internal medicine practices.

What are internal medicine practices and internist?

Even if you’ve heard of internal medicine before, you might not have a clear understanding of the definition. You’re certainly not alone. It’s a relatively vague term, so we have tried to explain here.

Internal medicine practices combine the analytical examination of laboratory science with a personalized, compassionate approach to adult medicine. Moreover, it is also a primary care for adults.

Internists are specialists who apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illness including Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Like others this practice follows various subspecialities and you will get to know some of them in the following brief.

Adolescent medicine:

Adolescent medicine specialists focus on the physical, psychological, social and sexual development of adolescents and young adults.

Cardiovascular Disease: 

Specialists treat patients with acute and chronic cardiovascular conditions including chronic coronary heart disease, congestive heart failure, arrhythmia, acute myocardial infarction, and other congenital heart disease.

Endocrinology: 

Specialty of internal medicine that deals with the hormonal regulation of normal physiology including the pituitary, thyroid, adrenal, pancreas, ovaries/testes and their target tissues.

Gastroenterology: 

Specialists with advanced training, who research, diagnose and treat disorders of the gastrointestinal tract and liver.

Allergy and Immunology:

Specialty of internal medicine concerned with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of problems with the human immune system.

Sports Medicine: 

Specialists are concerned with all problems — injury and illness alike — related to athletics and physical fitness.

Now, you have clear picture of internal medicine still you need to know that there is notable difference between internal Medicine and General Medicine that you should know.

Internal Medicine

Internal medicine physicians treat adults and specialize in preventing, diagnosing, and managing disease and chronic conditions. They are trained to diagnose complex diseases occurring only in adults.

General Medicine

General Practice physicians can treat any patients irrespective of gender or age. It includes children & adolescents too.

Now, Let’s look at some coding errors in internal medicine practices that result in claim denials, costing your practice big time.

Incorrect Procedure Code

It is very natural to accidentally choose the incorrect procedure code when completing claims from thousands of CPT codes. Reasons for common errors includes inaccurate or incomplete code descriptions on electronic charge systems, cheat sheets, and encounter forms. Moreover, forgetting to check out notes near the code or reading editorial comments at the beginning of a section within the CPT book can also result in this common error.

Random Use of Modifiers

Modifiers are very helpful to convey payers about any special circumstances surrounding the procedure or service. You can use both modifiers

• HCPCS modifiers, which happen to be alphabetic or alphanumeric, are developed by CMS,
• CPT modifiers, which are numeric, have been developed by the AMA.

on HCPCS and CPT codes. However, you should avoid random use of it as it may cause claim denials and revenue loss.

Stay relevant with coding updates

Healthcare system is becoming dynamic day by day which results in coding updates periodically, staying up to date on current coding rules and practices is essential else you will face big coding errors that cost your internal medicine practice money. You should ensure that your coders are updated with recent coding changes to avoid the compliance risk and lost revenue for your practice.

If you are looking for outsourcing your billing and coding needs, then you can get in touch with us. We are team of internal medical billing and coding expert which help you to reduce denials and increase practice revenue.