Navigating Your Career

Codes for Procedures
Medical Coding\Part 2 of 2 in a series Biopsies One of the most common codes you will use in dermatology is for skin biopsy. In most cases, you should use 11100 for the first biopsy (shave or punch) and 11101 for each additional biopsy. For example, if you perform five biopsies you would bill 11100 and 11101 with a quantity of four for a total of five. When shouldn’t you use these codes? - Use shave remo …
Medical Coding
I Wish I Had Known: Starting a Solo Dermatology Practice
starting a solo practiceI can speak only for myself on the topic of starting a solo dermatology practice. As an aside, I initially had no interest in starting and running a small medical business. My post-training strengths, or at least my comfortable level of competencies, did not include marketing myself, choosing the right business location, buying all the right supplies, getting the right loans, hiring and firing sta …
starting a solo practice
The 411 on Medical Coding
Medical CodingThe importance of understanding coding cannot be understated. Knowing how to code well will ensure you get paid appropriately for what you do. It will also help you avoid/survive an audit, and make you more efficient at documenting. Unfortunately, coding is complicated and not intuitive. It is something you need to spend time studying and learning; look for sessions at conferences to help you beco …
Medical Coding
The Importance of Obtaining a Proper Informed Consent
signature consentObtaining a proper informed consent may be one of the best ways to protect oneself from undue litigation. In a study published in JAMA Dermatology1, approximately one-third of lawsuits stemming from injury sustained following laser surgery cited a failure to obtain a proper informed consent. All patients have the right to an informed consent. Informed consent is when a medical provider provides in …
signature consent
I Wish I Had Known: Finding the Right Fit Post-Training
As someone currently immersed in this process, I have learned a few lessons along the way -- some old made new again and others understood for the first time. Each of us has a unique way of sorting through information and making decisions, and for many of us a constant inner dialogue develops inside our own minds throughout this process. Below are five lessons that I find helpful, but of which I …