Powerful Coding & Compliance Solutions for Oncology
Revenue Cycle Coding Strategies has provided specialty medical coding, revenue cycle, and compliance consulting services, as well as educational and training materials to radiation and medical oncology professionals and others in the healthcare industry for over 25 years. RCCS’ key to excellence lies in our extensive team of specialty trained consultants with experience in all aspects of oncology from direct patient care to operational management. Our experts create customized solutions and provide our clients the assistance they need to thrive in the complex and ever-changing healthcare industry.
Oncology Consulting Services
Our goal is to build a trusted connection with our clients. We strive for long-term client relationships where we can provide not only auditing services and feedback on a recurring basis (quarterly, annually, etc.) but also day-to-day support for providers, clinicians, and/or coders involved in the coding, charge capture, and documentation process. We have many offerings that build out a comprehensive oncology consulting package:
- Comprehensive Medical Record Assessments (for coding and documentation requirements)
- Charge Capture and Documentation Review (validation of charges and supporting documentation by industry experts prior to claims submission)
- Oncology EHR Assessment and Optimization (for accurate and efficient charging and documentation)
- Operational Assessments (for effective staffing and departmental workflow)
- Specialized Education (providers, clinicians, and/or coding staff)
Common Areas of Concern We Can Address for Oncology:
- Expert confirmation of daily charges and documentation
- Inaccurate or cumbersome EHR systems
- Evaluation of supporting documentation in comparison to authoritative guidelines
- Assessment of coding and documentation for complex oncology techniques for all sites of service
- Education and recommendations for process improvements
- Supplement staff vacancies for coding and documentation review
Remote Oncology Charge Capture Verification
- Real-time communication with physicians and staff to address charge capture and documentation questions
- Daily comparison of charge capture to documentation found within the EMR
- Identification and real-time correction of missed, overbilled, or inaccurate charge capture
- Identification of incomplete documentation and documentation errors to allow for proactive correction
- Weekly communication of errors, omissions, corrections, and department trends
- Management of coding edits, including the application of necessary modifiers when appropriate
- Communications to assist with payer authorizations, denials, and reimbursement issues
- Education of staff and physicians regarding the process, necessary documentation, and charge capture
- Assistance with the implementation of annual coding updates, system upgrades, new treatment techniques, and best practices
Oncology Coding Training & Education
Customized Charge Verification Training
Charge capture is the practice of documenting and recording the services provided to the patient and submitting those charges for reimbursement. It is important to ensure charges are captured accurately, as a single error can cost your organization in time and revenue.
Charge capture errors could be a major contributor to revenue leakage for many healthcare organizations. Revenue Cycle Coding Strategies recommends a comprehensive charge verification process to identify missing or incorrect charges, confirm documentation accuracy, and ensure the integrity of your revenue cycle. Our team will provide your organization with customized training to best fit your educational needs and avoid future revenue leakage, coding errors, or compliance issues. With customized charge capture training, we will provide:
- In-depth training for staff on reviewing and validating the charges captured within your radiation oncology electronic health record (EHR)
- Utilization of system functionality and customization of tools to promote accuracy and efficiency
- Implement effective tracking and communication tools with providers and clinicians
Radiation and Medical Oncology at the CROWN Annual Seminar Series
Each year the experts at RCCS gather to share their knowledge regarding upcoming coding, regulatory, and compliance guideline updates. The three-day seminar includes a collection of sessions addressing changes in radiation and medical oncology, interventional and diagnostic radiology, and cardiology coding and compliance.
During the two-day Radiation Oncology session, we will cover several hot topics and problem areas such as:
- Core concepts for assigning the correct ICD-10 code for radiation oncology services
- Fundamentals of Evaluation and Management (E/M) coding specific to radiation oncology
- Specific medical necessity risk areas, such as IMRT, IGRT, SRS and SBRT
- Coding for services performed and documented in a radiation center, including payer instructions and published requirements for documentation
- And more!
During the Medical Oncology & Infusion Centers session, we will cover:
- Authoritative guidance and coding resources
- Utilization of the drug administration hierarchy for CPT® coding
- Understanding differences between chemotherapy and therapeutic administrations and when to use them
- Identification of initial, sequential, and concurrent administrations
- And more!
On-site or Remote Customized Training
We can also bring the education straight to you – whether that’s virtual or in-person. Any of the topics we cover at CROWN can be offered to you any time of year, customized specifically for your team and organization. Let the experts cut through the confusion of keeping up with coding and regulatory updates and provide you with simple explanations that help keep your team compliant and your organization fully reimbursed.
Navigators®
Oncology Coding Resources
Navigator® Coding Reference Guides
RCCS created several Navigator® Coding Guides to help physician practices, cancer centers, and hospitals submit correct claims for oncology procedures and services. The first section of each Navigator provides background information about:
- Medicare program overview of the payment systems
- Authoritative guidance resources
- Supervision of services
- Documentation of services
The remainder of the manuals cover coding guidelines and billing/reimbursement guidelines for procedures that oncologists, nurses, radiation therapists, dosimetrists, physicists, and other qualified health professionals commonly perform. Oncology Navigators include:
- Navigator for Radiation Oncology
- Navigator for Radiation Oncology Billing Compliance
- Navigator for Evaluation and Management Services for Oncology
- Navigator for Brachytherapy
- Navigator for Medical Oncology Hematology and Infusion Centers
Coding for oncology services requires the ability to apply coding concepts to day-to-day procedures. These resources provide clinical examples and scenarios to help apply the coding guidelines to your practice.
We also created the Navigator® for Evaluation and Management for Oncology to assist with understanding the 2021 and 2023 E/M coding changes and updates for outpatient, inpatient, and telehealth services. The first part of this book discusses the types of E/M services for each setting. The second part of the book explains how to select the E/M code that best describes the service and how to ensure the documentation meets the requirements for that code. This book will help the reader understand the complex requirements for E/M coding and documentation.
Oncology Job Aid
Our ICD-10-CM Oncology Job Aid is a set of “cheat sheets” that contains relevant neoplasm codes as well as codes for other conditions that often occur in conjunction with that neoplasm for common cancer types including breast, male and female genitalia, brain, lung, and more.
Oncology Online Training Courses
In today’s rapidly changing healthcare environment, the ability to provide your teams with the training they need in a time and place that fits their schedule is priceless! With the online library of courses from Revenue Cycle Coding Strategies®, the industry’s most trusted source of medical specialty coding and compliance education for over two decades, you can easily prepare your team to code any service with confidence and ensure timely reimbursements.
Each course includes lay explanations of clinical terms, code selection and sequencing guidelines, and documentation requirements using real-world scenarios and hands-on exercises to improve comprehension and retention. At the completion of the course, a scored assessment evaluates the learner’s comprehension of the material and allows them to earn CEUs.
The ICD-10-CM for Oncology Curriculum is a collection of four online courses that cover all aspects of diagnosis coding for oncology for coders working in a physician practice or hospital outpatient setting. Participants can hone their skills by coding actual procedure notes and receiving immediate feedback on their code selections. The curriculum also includes printable study guides with anatomic diagrams to assist in the coding process. Courses included are:
- RO2: ICD-10-CM Fundamentals for Radiation Oncology
- ICDONC1: Neoplasms
- ICDONC2: Cancer-Related Conditions
- ICDONC3: Complications of Treatment
RCCS also offers a Radiation Oncology Curriculum which contains:
- RO1H OR RO1P: Patient Visits (Hospital or Physician)
- RO2: ICD-10-CM Fundamentals for Radiation Oncology
- RO3: External Beam Radiation Therapy
- RO4: Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy
- RO5: Stereotactic Radiation Therapy
- RO6: Brachytherapy
- RO7: Radiopharmaceuticals Procedures
Each of these oncology courses is also available to be purchased individually, allowing you to customize your education plan based on the needs of your team.
Outside of these curricula, RCCS also offers a standalone course INF1: Infusions and Injections. It is designed to prepare you to assign procedure codes for drugs and drug administration services.
Client Resource Center
With our Client Resource Center (CRC), you will always have access to the answers you need for complicated coding questions. The CRC platform puts you in direct contact with an industry expert to quickly answer your important questions—usually by the next business day—via the Q&A portal.
You can also access the specific payer policies for your facility’s requirements and geographic location at any time.
The CRC is a subscription-based service where interventional radiologists, practice staff, and coders can ask questions regarding coding, billing, and compliance for interventional radiology procedures and receive real-time responses from our team of experts.