Excision sized after the fact
Excision codes are chosen by lesion diameter plus the narrowest margin, measured before excision. Reconstructing size from a pathology report shrinks the code and the payment.
Dermatology billing
dermatology billingservices
Dermatology coding is measurement coding. Lesion size, margins, closure type and whether the specimen went to pathology all change the code — and every one of those details is decided in the note before billing sees the chart.
What actually gets denied
Dermatology denials we workevery single day.
Benign versus malignant selection
Coding from the pathology result requires holding the claim; coding from clinical suspicion before results creates rework and refunds.
Destruction versus shave versus biopsy
17000-series destruction, 11300-series shave removal and the 11102-series biopsy codes describe different work and are frequently interchanged.
Repairs bundled into excision
Simple closure is included; intermediate and complex repair are separately reportable when documented as such.
Payer behavior
The quirks that decide whether you get paid
Cosmetic versus medical necessity
The same procedure can be a covered medical service or a patient-pay cosmetic service. The split has to be decided and disclosed before the visit, not litigated after.
Mohs same-day rules
Mohs stages, and any same-day biopsy or repair, follow specific reporting rules with a separately identifiable requirement.
Multiple lesion sequencing
Multiple procedure reductions apply; sequencing highest-value first protects the allowable.
Documentation traps
What we ask your providers to write down
Size in the note missing units
Centimeters, including margins, for every lesion treated.
Site not specific
Codes vary by anatomic site group; 'arm' is not enough.
Number of lesions unclear
Destruction codes count lesions, and the count must be explicit.
How we support dermatology practices
Every dermatology account is staffed by coders who bill this specialty daily. The work spans our full medical billing and revenue cycle management services — coding, claim scrubbing, denial management and A/R recovery — and you can see how engagements are structured on our pricing page. For the full specialty bench, go back to all specialties we bill, or contact us at (555) 555-0142.
Further reading
DenialsWhy Claims Get Denied: The Patterns Behind Most RejectionsMost denials are not random. They cluster into a handful of causes you can name, count and design out of your workflow.SpecialtyWhy Specialty Matters in Billing — Cardiology, Orthopedics and Podiatry ComparedThree specialties, three completely different failure modes — and why a generalist biller misses all of them.
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