Children and Photoscreening – Ophthalmology Management

A complete eye exam by an ophthalmologist or optometrist skilled in the examination of children, should be performed on all children age 3-4 years. However, many of these children cannot cooperate for visual acuity testing. Ocular photoscreening is an alternative that can be performed by an eye care professional (M.D., D.O., or O.D.), by a lay person with the required skill (e.g., a technician), or by a primary-care physician.

This article answers the following questions:

• What is photoscreening?
• What are the attributes of a screening program?
• How should photoscreening be coded?
• Do health insurance plans cover screening?
• If photoscreening discovers pathology, will a claim be reimbursed?
• What does the chart documentation contain besides the photograph?

This article was published in Ophthalmology Management’s Coding & Reimbursement column, which is written by Corcoran’s Executive Vice-President, Suzanne Corcoran, COE. To view the entire article in Ophthalmology Management, click on the link below:

http://www.ophthalmologymanagement.com/article.aspx?article=102952