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Anesthesia Coding Alert

Bust 3 CS Catheter Myths to Skip the Wrong Code

Published on Fri Mar 20, 2009

Your doc needs to do this to get paid on more than CS cath placement . Quick -- look up the CPT code for coronary sinus (CS) catheter placement used during cardiac surgery. No luck? Then an unlisted code reporting is in your future.Here are the whys and hows on this unique procedure. Myth 1: Code 93508 Applies to CS Cath Fact: Code 93508 (Catheter placement in coronary artery[s], arterial coronary conduit[s], and/or venous coronary bypass graft[s] for coronary angiography without concomitant left heart catheterization) does not apply to coronary sinus catheter placement, even if you append modifier 52 (Reduced services). In addition, the 936xx range of codes (those for EP studies) are inappropriate.Instead, an unlisted code is your best choice. Anesthesiologists insert coronary sinus catheters for minimally invasive heart valve surgery, says Farhan Sheikh, MD, professor of anesthesiology and director of cardiac anesthesia at Albany Medical Center. The coronary sinus [...]
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