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Anesthesia Coding Alert

Reader Questions:

Convert to Units for Reporting More Minutes

Published on Wed Apr 06, 2011

Question: When billing for code 01967, sometimes the time is over 999 minutes. In one case, the time was 1,080 minutes. May I bill the anesthesia as: 01967 (900 mins in the units field) plus 01967 (180 mins in the units field), or should I report it some other way?Indiana SubscriberAnswer: Knowing how to handle multiple-digit units can be difficult. Most payers that accept claims electronically can accept a maximum of three digits in the time field. By contrast, some payers that only accept paper claims and don't accept electronic claims (such as some workers comp or auto injury payers) scan in only two digits in the units field on your claim.But this limitation should not present a problem in your case. Here's why: For 01967 (Neuraxial labor analgesia/anesthesia for planned vaginal delivery [this includes any repeat subarachnoid needle placement and drug injection and/or any necessary replacement of an epidural [...]
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