2025 Coding Companion® for General Surgery/Gastroenterology (Spiral)

• Evaluation and Management (E/M) Services Guidelines – E/M codes are used every day in your practice. Now with CPT® E/M Guidelines and our Optum Coding Tips, you have all the information you need to select the correct E/M code for the service provided.  
• Quickly find information. All the information you need is provided, including CPT® full code descriptions, lay descriptions, coding tips, post op or follow-up days, Medicare edits including IOM references and Medicare Unlikely Edit designations (MUE), and commonly associated ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes.
• Procedure code icons. Quickly identify new, revised, add-on, and telemedicine procedure codes, making your coding process for procedures and E/M services quick and efficient.
• ICD-10-CM code icons. Icons identifying age-related and laterality diagnosis codes.
• Easily determine fees for your practice and reinforce consistency in the charges. Relative value units including the practice, work, and malpractice components with the total RVUs for non-facility and facility are included.
• CPT® Assistant references. Identifies that an article or discussion of the CPT® code has been in the American Medical Association’s CPT® Assistant newsletter. Use the citation to locate the correct volume. 
• Avoid claim denials and/or audits. Medicare payer information includes references to Internet Only Manual (IOM) guidelines, follow-up days, and assistant-at-surgery. 
• CCI edits by CPT® and HCPCS procedure code. CPT® and HCPCS procedure codes with their associated CCI edits are provided in a special section. Quarterly updates, and other significant updates for this Coding Companion are available online at Optumcoding.com Product Update page.

Ms. Green is a Registered Health Information Administrator with more than 35 years of experience in multiple areas of information management. She has proven expertise in the analysis of medical record documentation, assignment of ICD-10-CM and PCS codes, DRG validation, and CPT code assignment in ambulatory surgery units and the hospital outpatient setting. Her experience includes serving as a director of a health information management department, clinical/technical editing, new technology research and writing, medical record management, utilization review activities, quality assurance, tumor registry, medical library services, and chargemaster maintenance. Ms. Green is an active member of the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA).

Ms. Rose has more than 15 years of experience in the healthcare profession. She has extensive experience in auditing, teaching, physician billing, and multi-specialty coding with experience in coding CPT, HCPCS, and ICD-10-CM. Most recently Ms. Rose was a post payment auditor and coding consultant. She also taught coding to physicians and at a local community college. Ms. Rose has been a member of her local American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) chapter and the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) for many years.