Anesthesia Coding Alert

Question: Can we bill for nasogastric tube placement along with anesthesia during the surgery?

Answer: Nursing staff usually places a routine nasogastric tube, which means the anesthesiologist normally cannot bill separately for the service.

Explanation: If your anesthesiologist places the nasogastric tube in addition to providing anesthesia, the Correct Coding Initiative (CCI) edits list the tube placement as part of the anesthesia charge. Because of this, you will not report the tube placement as an additional service.

Back-up: If your physician ever places the tube without providing anesthesia for the procedure, report 43752 (Nasoor oro-gastric tube placement, requiring physician's skill and fluoroscopic guidance [includes fluoroscopy, image documentation and report]). Be sure to include documentation that proves that the physician's skill was necessary.