Coding Hotline
Experts agree that correct coding may be the single most important area for surgical practice improvement. However, keeping up with the constant changes in claims coding and billing rules can be costly and time consuming. Therefore, the American College of Surgeons—as a part of its ongoing endeavor to support Fellows—has established a coding consultation service hotline.
How to get help
Confirmation of ACS Fellowship is required to obtain hotline assistance. The hotline staff will ask members to provide their membership identification number when calling the hotline. Hotline services are provided and measured in consultation units (CU). One CU covers a period of up to10 minutes. ACS Fellows are given five (5) free consultation units each calendar year. Unused CUs are not rolled over into the next year. More than one CU may be required during a single session. If needed members may purchase additional “CU’s” in packages of three for $60.00.
Service hours and level of assistance
The hours of operation are 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM Mountain Standard Time (MST), Monday through Friday, holidays excluded.
Calls will be returned within 24 hours. Answers to coding questions are provided verbally over the phone including operative note questions. If it is necessary to submit an operative note for review it must be pre-coded. Review is based on time (average time required is 3 CU’s or more). Submitted operative reports may require up to 7-10 days for review. If the answer to your problem is not readily available, the question will be referred to research, which may take up to 7-10 working days.
To access a coding specialist call the ACS Coding Hotline at 800-ACS-7911 (800-227-7911).Revised May 8, 2012