In case there were any doubters that mHealth is here to stay, one of the flagship mHealth applications in the market today, cardiac telemetry devices--like Cardionet's--have officially been recognized in 2009 with their own billing code. The Cardiology Billing Blog warns billing departments that are not properly implementing the new billing and coding changes could end up losing money from lower collections and/or spending more time dealing with accounts receivable. According to the publication, the addition of cardiac telemetry devices to the billing establishment comes amidst a wave of changes that mark the most significant update to cardiology billing since the mid 1990s. Read on for a sample run-down of some of the changes:

- All new codes for following up on implanted devices, including specific codes for internet (remote) device checks and more.

- Some device follow-up services now have 90-day or 30-day global periods.

- Wearable cardiac telemetry devices have their own specific code now--no more billing with an unlisted code.

The Cardiology Billing Blog notes that "both the physicians and their billers need to be fully versed in all of this cardiology billing changes in order to avoid significant billing and reimbursement issues... [which could necessitate] training for all of your billing staff and updating your documentation, billing resources and possibly your billing software."

Just another sign that mHealth is on the move and 2009 is shaping up to be its breakout year.

Read this post by Carl Mays II over at the Cardiology Billing Blog for more on the new 2009 codes.