Anesthesia Coding Alert

Question: I'm coding for a situation where, due to the subject's age, one of our physicians provided anesthesia while the patient was undergoing an auditory test. When I try to choose the appropriate code, though, I find that the surgeon's codes don't cross to an anesthesia code. How should I report this case?

Maine Subscriber

Answer: There are plenty of surgical procedures that don't crosswalk to anesthesia codes. This means you'll need to understand the procedure so you'll be able to accurately report the most appropriate anesthesia code.

Several possible codes describe the auditory test, including 92585 (Auditory evoked potentials for evoked response audiometry and/or testing of the central nervous system; comprehensive) and 92588 (Evoked otoacoustic emissions; comprehensive or diagnostic evaluation [comparison of transient and/or distortion product otoacoustic emissions at multiple levels and frequencies]).

In this case, your best coding option will be 00120 (Anesthesia for procedures on external, middle and inner ear including biopsy; not otherwise specified).

One step further: You'll also want to append modifier 23 (Unusual anesthesia) to indicate that the patient doesn't normally require anesthesia for this procedure. Keep in mind that modifier 23 requires the use of "general" anesthesia. Don't forget to include the appropriate documentation supporting its necessity.