Question:
Our physician performed anesthesia for a c-section and I billed 01961 for that. I am worried about showing medical necessity for the c-section because the doctor documented "patient desires c-section, previous shoulder dystocia." What diagnosis code should I use? Georgia Subscriber
Answer:
Determine your coding here by whether the patient had a previous c-section due to shoulder dystocia.If so, look to 654.21 (
Previous cesarean delivery).
If no previous history of c-section exists, Coding Clinic 2001 first quarter directs you to report 669.71 (Cesarean delivery, without mention of indication) for this scenario.
Remember:
You should use 01961 (
Anesthesia for cesarean delivery only) only when the situation is a primary c-section that does not involve any labor care.