# Incidental vs. Bundled



## marivic415 (Dec 22, 2011)

what is the difference between incidental and bundled?

thank you.


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## ajs (Dec 27, 2011)

marivic415 said:


> what is the difference between incidental and bundled?
> 
> thank you.



Incidental means "minor" so that would be a small piece that is always included.  

Bundled means "packaged together" which in medical coding means several procedures that are generally done together bundled into a package price.


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## btadlock1 (Dec 27, 2011)

marivic415 said:


> what is the difference between incidental and bundled?
> 
> thank you.



The difference is subtle, so it's hard to see sometimes...Like Arlene said:

Incidental = "Inclusive" - it's a small part of a bigger total procedure - like, a Lidocaine injection, when giving someone stitches, or a venipuncture when starting an IV. (It's an integral part of the main procedure).

"Bundled" = a group package of separate procedures that are commonly performed together, and  when they are all done at once, have a specific code to describe them. Bundled almost always refers to labs - like the 80050 panel (84443 + 85025 + 80053)

Make sense?


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## anicho4250@aol.com (Dec 27, 2011)

*Re: Incidental and Bundled*



btadlock1 said:


> The difference is subtle, so it's hard to see sometimes...Like Arlene said:
> 
> Incidental = "Inclusive" - it's a small part of a bigger total procedure - like, a Lidocaine injection, when giving someone stitches, or a venipuncture when starting an IV. (It's an integral part of the main procedure).
> 
> ...






Thanks Arlene and Brandi for the clarification.  As a new coder I am learning alot from this forum, from all the questions that are asked, and the answers given.

Vanessa Nicholas CPC


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## cliff.chen89 (Aug 1, 2019)

btadlock1 said:


> The difference is subtle, so it's hard to see sometimes...Like Arlene said:
> 
> Incidental = "Inclusive" - it's a small part of a bigger total procedure - like, a Lidocaine injection, when giving someone stitches, or a venipuncture when starting an IV. (It's an integral part of the main procedure).
> 
> ...



Hi Brandi, thanks for the explanation for the difference between bundled and incidental. Do you know of any resources similar to NCCI edits to show which codes are incidental to one another?


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