Ophthalmology is a branch of medicine which deals with the diagnosis and treatment of diseases and disorders of the eye. Likewise, ophthalmology coding is the method of coding the diagnostic procedures and treatments involved in Ophthalmology. This specialty of medicine seems like an undersized specialty, but it actually includes a number of sub-specialties like anterior segment surgery, cataract, cornea, glaucoma, neuro-ophthalmology, ocular oncology, oculoplastics, ophthalmic pathology, refractive surgery, medical retina.

Ophthalmology pertains to the eye, but the range of sub-specialties it presents, it’s not uncommon for medical coders to get confused and face difficulty in choosing the correct code. For example, there are some common ophthalmology coding and billing problems that arise when billing for cataract co-management services. Many a times, the general descriptions of the codes do not correspond with the definitions next to the CPT codes.

Sometimes, you might not be aware of the narrative descriptions in the CPT, which are found at the back of the CPT under special ophthalmological services. A careful observation to optimize your coding and compliance efforts could get your office the reimbursement it rightly deserves. So, it’s worthwhile to go through the all the materials you have!

To move beyond the complicacies, you need to have resources that cover the all aspects of ophthalmology coding. The idea is to understand how the payers handle these codes. As with other specialty tracks, there are guidelines and real life examples which can help you code efficiently and correctly. Apart from coding, it’s sometimes a teamwork of physicians and office personnel that can drive in a reimbursement in easier ways. So, it also depends on how you convince physicians to capture and document consult services correctly.