Date(s)
Event dates
Feb 18–19, 2022
Location
Location
Virtual Workshop

The 2022 STS Coding Workshop: Best Practices for Cardiothoracic Surgery is a 2-day virtual event that provides cardiothoracic surgery coders, surgeons, and all billing professionals with the latest coding and reimbursement updates affecting cardiothoracic surgical practices. This hybrid-format event featured both pre-recorded online lectures and live webinars with discussion, scenario-based questions, challenging coding examples, and attendee interaction.

Live Q&A and Discussion Schedule

Friday, February 18, 2022

4:00 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. ET Welcome and Introductions
4:15 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. ET Adult Cardiac Q&A 
V. Seenu Reddy, MD and Stephen Lahey, MD
5:15 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. ET Congenital Cardiac Q&A
James D. St. Louis, MD, Joseph Turek, MD, and Jeffery Jacobs, MD
6:00 p.m. – 6:45 p.m. ET Vascular Surgery Q&A
Sunita Srivastava, MD 

 

Saturday, February 19, 2022

10:00 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. ET General Thoracic Q&A
John Howington, MD
10:45 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. ET Esophageal Q&A
Francis Nichols III, MD
11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. ET Break
12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. ET E/M, Critical Care, Telehealth Q&A 
Aaron Cheng, MD, and Julie R. Painter, MBA, CCVTC, CPMA
1:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. ET Physician Documentation Q&A
Scott C. Silvesty, MD, Sanjay Samy, MD, and Francis Nichols III, MD

On-Demand Content

Registrants: Log into the STS Learning Center, then go to “In Progress” courses on the dashboard or look in the “My Activities” tab view the recorded workshop content and complete session evaluations.

Coding for Adult Cardiac Surgery
V. Seenu Reddy, MD
  • TAVR Procedures
  • VAD Procedures
  • ECMO

Stephen Lahey, MD

  • CABG & Related Procedures
  • Aortic Valve Procedures
  • Mitral Valve Procedures
  • Pulmonary and Tricuspid Valve Procedures
  • Maze Procedures
Coding for Congenital Cardiac Surgery
James D. St. Louis, MD
  • Congenital Cardiac Valve Procedures
  • Other Congenital Procedures
Joseph Turek, MD 
  • Aorta and Vessel Procedures 
  • Complex Cardiac Anomalies
Jeffery Jacobs, MD
  • Coding For Septal Defects: ASD, VSD, AVSD
  • ECMO and VADs
Documentation, Coding Tips, and Considerations for Vascular Surgery

Sunita Srivastava, MD

  • TEVAR
  • EVAR
  • FEVAR
  • Embolectomy and Thrombectomy
  • Vascular Catheterizations
  • Endovascular Venous Therapies
  • Hemodialysis
  • Peripheral Venous Insufficiency
General Thoracic Surgery Coding for Thoracic Procedures and Surgery

John Howington, MD

  • Open Lung Resections
  • Thoracoscopic Lung Resections
  • Other Thoracic Procedures
  • Pleural Procedures
  • Bronchoscopy Procedures
  • Mediastinal, Pericardial, Thymectomy, and Diaphragmatic Procedures
  • Musculoskeletal Procedures
General Thoracic Surgery Coding for Esophageal Procedures and Surgery

Francis Nichols III, MD

  • Endoscopic Esophageal Procedures
  • Esophageal Resection Procedures
  • Hiatal Hernia Procedures
  • Other Esophageal Procedures
Evaluation and Management Coding for Cardiothoracic Surgery 

Aaron Cheng, MD

  • Office and Outpatient E/M Coding
  • Inpatient and other E/M Services
  • Critical Care Services
  • Shared or Split Visits, New Guidelines
  • Telehealth Overview for CT Surgery
  • Telehealth PHE Expansions for 2022
The Role of the Physician in Documentation and Reimbursement

Scott C. Silvesty, MD

  • Overview of Physician and Hospital Reimbursement
Sanjay Samy, MD
  • Documentation Considerations and Strategies
Francis Nichols III, MD
  • Coding and Documentation Tips to Achieve Maximum Reimbursement

Target Audience
Cardiothoracic surgery coders, surgeons, office managers, medical billing specialists, physician assistants, nurses, and anyone else involved in the coding, reimbursement, and compliance efforts for the cardiothoracic surgery team.

Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:

  • Identify new CPT codes, updates, and payment policies affecting cardiothoracic surgery coding for 2022
  • Describe and identify the documentation necessary to support relevant diagnoses, services rendered, and medical necessity for a patient encounter
  • Explain the importance of specificity and identification of services provided in a patient encounter
  • Define coding and reimbursement criteria in order to identify and capture relevant documentation elements efficiently
  • Describe common coding issues for each subspecialty and how they should be reported and resolved
  • Discuss the 2022 changes to the E/M codes and guidelines
  • Interpret the necessary documentation and regulations relevant to critical care and cardiothoracic surgery E/M services 

Accreditation

"ACCME Accredited with Commendation"

The Society of Thoracic Surgeons is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The Society of Thoracic Surgeons designates this other activity (enduring material and live) for 22.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Physician Assistants (PAs) may claim AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ for completing this activity. 

Continuing Education Credits

AAPC Medical Coding CEU Approved Vendor

This program has the prior approval of AAPC for 22.5 continuing education hours. Granting of prior approval in no way constitutes endorsement by AAPC of the program content or the program sponsor.

AHIMA Approved CEU ProgramThis program has been approved for 22.5 continuing education units (CEUs) for use in fulfilling the continuing education requirements of the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA). Granting of Approved CEUs from AHIMA does not constitute endorsement of the program content or its program provider.