Automatic Coding Guide- Automatically code for BMI, Blood Pressure, and negative PHQ-9 documentation

Contents

• What is the automatic coding feature?
• What are the benefits of automatic coding?
• Using the automatic coding feature
  • Enabling automatic coding
  • Applying coding automation in visit notes
• Using vitals related coding automations
  • Using the Body Mass Index coding automation
  • Using the Blood Pressure coding automation
• Using the PHQ-9 depression screening coding automation
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is the automatic coding feature?

Elation's automatic coding feature is designed to help you get credit in quality programs for the documentation already present in your visit note by automatically adding CPT and/or ICD-10 codes to the billing information section of your visit notes based on certain information you store in your visit notes.

Currently this feature applies to body mass index assessments (BMI), blood pressure (BP) recordings, and negative PHQ-9 depression screening results documentation.

 

What are the benefits of automatic coding?

When automatic coding is enabled for body mass index assessments (BMI), blood pressure (BP) recordings, and negative PHQ-9 depression screening results documentation, Elation uses the documentation already present in your visit note to automatically apply the corresponding CPT or ICD-10 codes to the Billing Information section of your visit note. Your practice no longer need to (1) remember to code, or (2) remember which code needs to be added to the bill, based on the resulting vitals or screening results. This will reduce time spent on double documentation on your practice, allowing you to focus more time on patient care.

 

Using the automatic coding feature

Enabling automatic coding

Admin Level Users within your practice can turn the automatic coding features on or off by using the toggle in the Settings section.

To adjust your automatic coding preferences:

1. Click on your email at the top of your Elation account and then click "Settings" -> "Billing"
2. Use the toggles next to turn the corresponding coding automations ON (green) or OFF (grey) for any of the listed workflows. Once enabled, the coding automation will work for all users in your practice.

• User Tip: When the “Admin only” toggle at the top right of the page is turned on, only Admin Level Users will be able to turn the feature on or off. For more information on Admin privileges, please reference the User Accounts Guide- Administrative privilege.

Applying coding automation in visit notes 

When automatic coding is turned on, taking certain actions in the visit note, such as entering blood pressure information or importing a PHQ-9 result from the Clinical Profile, will result in associated CPT or ICD-10 codes being automatically inputted in the Billing Information section of associated visit note. Reference the information below to understand how each coding automation works.

 

Using vitals related coding automations

Simply use the corresponding, structured Vitals section in the visit note to record your patient’s BMI and blood pressure to trigger the coding automations listed below.
 

Using the Body Mass Index (BMI) coding automation

For the Body Mass Index coding automation, enter the patient's height and weight in the Vitals section of the visit note and Elation will automatically input the calculated BMI value's corresponding ICD-10 code in the billing section of the visit note.

• Important Note: BMI coding automation is available for patients who are 20 years or older as of the visit note creation date. BMI coding automation is not available for patients under 20 years of age. Manually input the diagnosis codes associated with the BMI percentiles for patients 20 years of age and younger as needed.

The ICD-10 added will correspond to this chart:

Using the Blood Pressure (BP) coding automation

For the Blood Pressure coding automation, enter blood pressure readings into the BP section of the visit note for any of your hypertensive or diabetic patients and Elation will automatically input the resulting systolic and diastolic value's CPT® codes in the billing section of the visit note.

If multiple blood pressures are recorded in the BP fields, the coding automation will input codes for the lowest systolic and diastolic readings across all values entered in the visit note.

• Important Note: BP coding automation only applies to hypertensive and diabetic patients who are between 18-85 years of age as of the visit note creation date, and will only occur when documented BP levels are within a controlled range (<140 for systolic and <90 for diastolic). BP coding automation will not occur for patients without an active or controlled diagnosis of hypertension or diabetes in their Clinical Profile or visit note.