Anesthesia Coding Alert

Question: When you bill out codes 99151-+99157, don't you enter this on the professional claim of the provider who performed the service? Let's say, it was during a ESI with the MD administering the injection while a nurse performed the moderate sedation service. We would bill code 99152 (the patient was older than 5) along with 62323 on the physician's claim form. When you bill out codes 99151-+99157, are you required to have the timeon the claim form as you are required to have the time listed with codes 00100 - 01999? I would think not, since it is a code that is not paid by time but just by the fee schedule.

Minnesota Subscriber

Answer: You are correct; you don't need to submit time on a claim for services such as an epidural steroid injection (ESI) such as 62323 (Injection[s], of diagnostic or therapeutic substance[s] [e.g., anesthetic, antispasmodic, opioid, steroid, other solution], not including neurolytic substances, including needle or catheter placement, interlaminar epidural or subarachnoid, lumbar or sacral [caudal]; with imaging guidance [i.e., fluoroscopy or CT]). You also do not need to include time units for moderate sedation codes such as 99152 (Moderate sedation services provided by the same physician or other qualified health care professional performing the diagnostic or therapeutic service that the sedation supports, requiring the presence of an independent trained observer to assist in the monitoring of the patient's level of consciousness and physiological status; initial 15 minutes of intraservice time, patient age 5 years or older).

But: You still need documentation that supports the interservice time, which must be a minimum of 10 minutes.