2008 ABC Coding Manual - Index of

Development of New Terminology
Resources
Development of a new term and corresponding code begins with receipt of an ABC Terminology and Code Request
(Request).
Requests may enter the ABC Process via ABC Coding Solutions-Alternative Link and may originate from practitioners,
professional associations, within the Company, and/or the general public.
Upon receipt, a Request is routed to the Company’s Practitioner Relations Director.
The Director ensures that one of the Company’s coding experts perform the actions listed below:
• reviews the Request
• restates the requested terminology using the ABC Lexicon (vernacular)
• reviews the Healthcare Common Procedural Coding System Level I and II (if applicable, to characterize
related terminology)
• conducts a crosswalk to the HIPAA code sets, if applicable, to characterize the degree of code originality
suggested in the Request
• analyzes the Request, related terms and crosswalk
• notes the implications of the Request vis-à-vis healthcare research, management and commerce in a
Terminology and Code Request Summary Report (Summary Report) when applicable
• requests assistance and/or review in a Request for Coding Support/Concurrence (Concurrence
Request)
If the reviewers agree with the proposed ABC code, terminology and expanded definition, the Director documents this on
the Concurrence Request and the ABC code and terminology is approved for inclusion in the ABC code set.
Alternative Link and Special Projects
The Company supports a variety of special projects. One of the most important projects is the annual ABC Relative
Value Update Initiative (ABC RVU Initiative). The ABC RVU Initiative is managed by an independent third party, Relative
Value Studies, Inc. (RVSI), which ensures a legally defensible rate structure for alternative medicine, nursing and other
integrative healthcare practices. With input from the Company and integrative healthcare constituents, RVSI gathers
statistical information to support relative value determinations for individual ABC codes.
Practitioners-at-large supply supportive information via traditional or Internet-based surveys developed and analyzed by
RVSI. RVSI can be contacted at 1-800-824-2133 or through their web site at www.rvsdata.com.
In areas unrelated to pricing, ABC Coding Solutions-Alternative Link performs its own primary and secondary research,
analyzes findings and generates reports that support improved healthcare system performance and health-related
decision-making.
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