APMA News - May/June 2019 - 30

The Coding Seminar a Sold-Out Success

he Coding Seminar, held March 30 in Boston, was a resounding success. More than 150 foot and ankle coding
professionals-including podiatrists, assistants, and other office staff-gained valuable insight into current trends and
best practices in reimbursement.
The seminar was led by Jeffrey Lehrman, DPM, and Michael
Warshaw, DPM-both certified professional coders (CPC). The
CPC certification is a distinguished designation covering all areas of medical coding, not just the lower extremity.
The agenda covered a range of subjects, providing valuable
content for both novices and experienced coders. Specific topics included changes to ICD-10 and CPT codes in 2019, CCI

dent agreed the lecture content was useful, comprehensive, appropriate, and met his or her needs, and that what he or she
learned during the seminar will enhance his or her professional
effectiveness. The majority of attendees said they would be interested in attending future coding seminars.
The next opportunity to learn from APMA coding experts
will be during the Harry Goldsmith, DPM, Memorial Coding
Seminar at The National, July 11-14 in Salt Lake City. APMA
will also host "Ask the Experts" sessions at the APMA booth in
the exhibit hall, and attendees will have an opportunity to have
one-on-one discussions with APMA's coding experts. Can't
make it for all four days? Register for the weekend-only option
and you will still have access to "Ask the Experts" on Saturday
and Sunday! Visit www.apma.org/thenational for more information.
APMA provides a wealth of coding education on its website
at www.apma.org/coding. In addition to coding alerts outlining
recent policy and enforcement changes, members can browse
dozens of webinars covering everything from coding basics to
complex surgical procedures. Also, be on the lookout for the
APMA podcast! This new member-exclusive benefit will include
a series of coding episodes featuring Dr. Lehrman and a few
special guests.
n

It was a packed room at The Coding Seminar. Attendees gained valuable
reimbursement and coding insights.

edits, E/M coding, modifiers, imaging services, first ray surgery,
and MIPS. Throughout the program, the presenters noted the
importance of accurate documentation.
"In the world of billing, coding, and documentation, the two
most important issues are medical necessity and documentation," said Dr. Warshaw. "Medicare only pays for what it deems
to be medically necessary. The only way to demonstrate to your
Medicare carrier-or, for that matter, any health insurance carrier-that what was performed and billed for was medically necessary is through the documentation."
Dr. Lehrman drove home the point: "You need to pick your
E/M code objectively, without ever guessing again, and know
your documentation is perfect in case of an audit."
In addition to asking questions during individual lectures,
attendees had the opportunity to ask general coding questions
they've always wanted answered. The end-of-the-day Q&A
session was so popular that the presenters continued answering questions for an additional 30 minutes past the end of the
seminar.
Attendee reaction to The Coding Seminar was overwhelmingly positive. In a post-meeting survey, nearly every respon30 APMA News May/June 2019

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http://www.apma.org/thenational http://www.apma.org/coding http://www.apma.org/services

APMA News - May/June 2019

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