Cardiology Coding Alert

Question: I am questioning how to code stress echos on patients that are done in the hospital when the cardiologist does the interpretation and supervision. I read that for Medicare patients we should bill 93351-26 and for non- Medicare payers we should bill 93350-26, 93016, and 93018. Is this information correct?Codify MemberAnswer: You are correct about the coding for a Medicare patient. A full stress test and echocardiography are included in 93351 (Echocardiography, transthoracic, real-time with image documentation [2D], includes M-mode recording, when performed, during rest and cardiovascular stress test using treadmill, bicycle exercise and/or pharmacologically induced stress, with interpretation and report; including performance of continuous electrocardiographic monitoring, with physician supervision).When 93351 became a valid code on Jan. 1, 2009, Medicare did not give it professional or technical components. It seemed to apply only to the full stress test plus the stress echo. Several months later, Medicare created separate professional [...]