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Glaucoma Today

ALLOFLO AFTER TRABECULAR MICROBYPASS STENTS Lorraine M. Provencher, MD   ALLOFLO 2-1-1 (4X SPACERS) Billy Pan, MD   CANALOPLASTY WITH ITRACK ADVANCE IN AN EYE WITH TWO PRIOR ISTENT IMPLANTS: GREEN ILUMIN NAVIGATION Mahmoud Khaimi, MD   TRAUMATIC ANGLE-RECESSION GLAUCOMA (TRIPLE PROCEDURE) Enver Mirza, MD  

Navigating a Winding Path

Make your journey your own and be prepared to handle what life may throw at you.

Cecelia Koetting, OD, FAAO, Dipl ABO

Modern Optometry

Every career in health care is full of unexpected turns, opportunities, challenges, and moments that test both skill and character. In this article, I share my journey through residency, practice transitions, and personal health challenges, including a cancer diagnosis during a pandemic. My hope is that these experiences offer lessons on resilience, adaptability, and empathy, both for your career and for the patients you serve. I started my career in optometry not as a doctor, but as a technician, gaining firsthand experience in the clinic while I applied to school. From early on, I knew I wanted to complete a residency, but with a GPA that wasn’t exactly stellar, I had to prove my drive and commitment. That determination carried me forward, and during my residency in Cincinnati I not only discovered how much I loved the work, but also met my husband. In a funny twist, he had been living in Memphis, where I went to optometry school, and although we shared many mutual friends, our paths hadn’t crossed until then. ON THE ROAD AGAIN After residency, we moved to Tucson, Arizona, where I was offered the opportunity to help open and run a brand-new medical center. It felt like a leap, but I said yes. Only 6 months later, the practice was acquired by private equity, and the plans for the center were put on hold.

Using Category III Codes

Five tips to help improve accuracy, payment, and compliance.

Matthew Baugh, MHA, COT, OCS, OCSR

Retina Today

Accurate coding for emerging retinal technologies requires more than familiarity with the standard American Medical Association (AMA) Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) Category I and Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) codes; it also requires understanding CPT Category III codes. These temporary tracking codes, or “T” codes, are increasingly common in retina as innovation accelerates, yet they remain a frequent source of confusion, denials, and compliance risk. CPT Category III codes consist of four numeric characters followed by the letter “T.” Although they are valid CPT codes, they do not have assigned relative value units (RVUs) or national Medicare payment rates. As a result, coverage and carrier pricing for reimbursement are determined by the Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) or the individual payer. The following five practical tips outline how retina practices can use CPT Category III codes correctly to improve payer outcomes and position emerging services for future CPT Category I promotion. TIP NO. 1: DON’T DEFAULT TO PATIENT PAY A common misconception is that Category III codes are inherently noncovered and should automatically be billed to the patient. However, Category III status does not always mean investigational or noncovered. Rather, when a procedure is best described with a Category III code, it should be billed as such on the claim. Coverage decisions are based on medical necessity and payer policy—not the code category alone.