Dermatology Year-End Billing Challenges: Why Revenue Drops and How Outsourcing Protects Practices

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Top Year-End Billing Pain Points Dermatology practices face some of the most complicated coding and reimbursement issues at the end of the year. Seasonal appointment spikes put additional pressure on billing teams struggling with: Declining reimbursements for common procedures such as biopsies, lesion excisions, cryotherapy, and Mohs services Payer-to-payer coding variability, especially on pathology-linked services Bundling disputes where multiple procedures performed in the same session are denied due to improper modifier usage Cosmetic vs. medical necessity confusion, leading to denials when documentation doesn’t clearly justify why a lesion needed removal Increased scrutiny on skin cancer—related services due to rising utilization These persistent challenges often leave dermatologists with more unpaid claims, lost revenue, and rising patient AR at year-end. What Practices Are Doing Right Now To reduce claim rejections before the year ends, most dermatology practices are: Re-trainin...
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Billing Codes for Psychiatric Collaborative Care Management

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What is Collaborative Care Management (CoCM)? 

Psychiatric Collaborative Care Management (CoCM) typically is provided by a primary care team consisting of a primary care physician and a care manager who work in collaboration with a psychiatric consultant, such as a psychiatrist. Care is directed by the primary care team and includes structured care management with regular assessments of clinical status using validated tools and modification of treatment as appropriate. The psychiatric consultant provides regular consultations with the primary care team to review the clinical status and care of patients and to make recommendations.

Billing Codes for Psychiatric Collaborative Care Management

CPT Code 99492

Initial psychiatric collaborative care management, first 70 minutes in the first calendar month of behavioral health care manager activities, in consultation with a psychiatric consultant, and directed by the treating physician or other qualified health care professional, with the following required elements:

  • Outreach to and engagement in the treatment of a patient directed by the treating physician or other qualified health care professional; 
  • Initial assessment of the patient, including administration of validated rating scales, with the development of an individualized treatment plan; 
  • Review by the psychiatric consultant with modifications of the plan if recommended;
  • Entering patients in a registry and tracking patient follow-up and progress using the registry, with appropriate documentation, participation in weekly caseload consultation with the psychiatric consultant; and
  • Provision of brief interventions using evidence-based techniques such as behavioral activation, motivational interviewing, and other focused treatment strategies.
To learn more about Codes for Psychiatric Collaborative Care Management: https://bit.ly/3MlvSvQ, also contact us at info@medicalbillersandcoders.com/ 888-357-3226
Location: United States

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