Billing and Coding for Nurse Practitioners: 2021 Updates

billing and coding np student on-the-job learning real world topics Jul 27, 2021

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Billing and coding clinic office visits are probably not the first thing nurse practitioners think of when they graduate. It's probably more like:

Phew! I’m so so so glad that's over.
What comes next?!
How am I going to find a job?
I’m not going to worry about that right now because...
...I'm finally done with NP school! 👩‍⚕️🦄💪

But unfortunately, the skill set of medical billing and coding is one of the first major frustrations that new nurse practitioners encounter on the job.

And doing it right makes a big difference -- there are serious consequences with chronically under or over-billing!

It tends to feel really hard for new grads at first, but once you get the hang of it, it's much simpler than you think.

Start with the Basics of Billing and Coding for Nurse Practitioners

We did our first episode on Billing and Coding for Nurse Practitioners over here. I refer to it a few times in this episode, so definitely go and check it out first, if you aren't familiar with how it works.

In both episodes, I'm talking about the bread and butter of coding -- new and established office visits, E&M codes. I don't get into procedures or coding for physical exams or coding modifiers. If you're interested, I'd totally be into hosting a Billing and Coding workshop to get more into those!

The Good News About Billing and Coding

Once you've watched that episode, I need you to head straight back here because we’ve got some good news —

The 2021 CMS updates for billing and coding just made life a LOT simpler for nurse practitioners.

They've streamlined it quite a lot — it's still relevant to know the more "complicated" billing and coding method (from the previous episode) since it can help you more accurately code and get reimbursed for all your hard work. But hopefully, this will overall give you back some time in your day.

In this episode, we chat about:

✅ Main branch points for determining strategies for billing and coding in-office visits
✅ Choosing the appropriate documentation to support coding
✅ Options for billing based on levels of decision making OR time spent with a patient
✅ And other significant updates!