Anesthesia Coding Alert

Question: The surgeon ordered a patient's EKG at our outpatient facility, and the anesthesiologist read the EKG prior to surgery. Can he bill this in addition to his anesthesia services?


Indiana Subscriber

Answer: You should not have a problem with the claim if the EKG reading and procedure are on separate days. Submit 93010 (Electrocardiogram, routine ECG with at least 12 leads; interpretation and report only) with diagnosis code V72.83 (Other specified preoperative examination).

The anesthesiologist often reads the patient's EKG on the same day as surgery, which makes some coders wonder if billing it separately is legitimate. Based on current NCCI edits, you should be able to do this (although you should check your local policies just in case). Still, report 93010, but append modifier 59 (Distinct procedural service) to indicate your physician performed two services for the patient: reading the EKG and administering anesthesia during the procedure. 

Note: Most anesthesiologists do not have EKG privileges. Before billing the service, verify that your physician is credentialed to perform EKGs in the facility and is able to identify and react to subtle changes the EKG might show.