Anesthesia Coding Alert

Terminology Check:

Remember What a Swan-Ganz Catheter Does

Pay attention to other names for it, too.

A Swan-Ganz catheter (SGC) is designed for specific hemodynamic monitoring and central access. Your provider can use the SGC to monitor pulmonary artery (PA) pressure, plus measure cardiac output and other cardiovascular functions. The catheter has multiple ports for central circulation access, including a regional anesthesia (RA) port, PA port, CVP port, and possibly the main line or “introducer.”

A Swan-Ganz catheter is also known as a pulmonary artery or PA catheter, says Kelly Dennis, MBA, ACS-AN, CANPC, CHCA, CPC, CPC-I, owner of Perfect Office Solutions in Leesburg, Fla. If your provider documents placement of a PA catheter that you believe is reportable, you’ll submit 93503 (Insertion and placement of flow directed catheter (eg, Swan-Ganz) for monitoring purposes).

Plus: Swan-Ganz line placement is most commonly performed at bedside as a stand-alone procedure.


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