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Cardiology Coding Alert

Coding Update:

36221 Leads the Long List of New Carotid and Vertebral Angiography Codes

Published on Tue Dec 11, 2012

Training tip: Documentation needs to state where the catheter terminates. You may want to grab a little caffeine before diving into 2013’s new cervicocerebral angiography codes. Your attention to detail needs to be at its best to pick out the key differences in the code definitions. Anatomically, these codes relate to vessels in the neck and head, says Terry A. Fletcher, BS, CPC, CCS-P, CCS, CEMC, CCC, CMSCS, CMC, of California-based Terry Fletcher Consulting. 2012 comparison: The new codes each include angiography and radiological supervision and interpretation (RS&I). This is a significant shift from 2012 coding, which required separate codes for catheter placement and RS&I, Fletcher notes. Because of this change, CPT® 2013 deletes angiography codes 75650 and 75660-75685 for the carotid, cerebral, vertebral, and cervical arteries. What’s included: New codes 36221-36226, which are primary rather than add-on codes, include vessel access, related catheter placement and contrast injections, fluoroscopy, RS&I, [...]
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