Anesthesia Coding Alert
Reader Questions:
Avoid 99052 and 99054 for Anesthesia
Published on Tue May 17, 2005
Question: Is it appropriate to use codes 99052 and 99054 when reporting anesthesia for after-hours or weekend cases?
Maine Subscriber
Answer: Surgeons and facilities are more likely to report 99052 (Services requested between 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. in addition to basic service) and 99054 (Services requested on Sundays and holidays in addition to basic service) than anesthesiologists are.
Anesthesia practitioners have their own codes for "qualifying circumstances" they can report. These codes (99100-99140) outline special conditions such as extreme patient age, total body hypothermia, controlled hypotension, and emergency conditions that complicate the case. Some commercial carriers recognize these codes, but many others - including Medicare - do not accept them. Work with your carriers to determine their guidelines for reporting cases with special circumstances.
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