# Anesthesia & Cardiac Cath 01920



## ldalyrn (Mar 13, 2010)

New to coding,  but have been a nurse for over 25 years. Found working on the floors to stressful. I have been coding 01920, anesthesia for cardiac catheterization, when an anesthesiologist has been present and administered sedation to patients undergoing cardiac catheterization. Recently I was told that this is incorrect and this code should only be used when coding critical ill patients undergoing the procedure. Could someone advise me if this is correct and if so what CPT code is being used when it is not a critically ill patient and anesthesia is present administering sedation? Could it be 99149-99150? Thanks for all your help!


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## gost (Mar 15, 2010)

It depends on whether the anesthesiologist's services meet the definition for anesthesia services or for conscious sedation.  If the criteria for billing anesthesia services are met, you are correct to bill 01920.  If the services are conscious sedation only, 99149 - 50 are correct.  However, most cardiac cath codes include an allowance for conscious sedation so your doc may have trouble getting paid by some payers.


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