Advanced Search

Cardiology Coding Alert

Reader Question:

93454's Global Period Affects Discharge

Published on Thu Nov 17, 2011

Question: May I report 99238, discharge from hospital, on the same date as coronary angiogram? Medicare says discharge is covered in the surgery's global days, but coronary angiography has 0 global days.Codify MemberAnswer: A 0-day global period means that Medicare will bundle all E/M services on the surgery date into the surgical code.As a result 99238 (Hospital discharge day management; 30 minutes or less) is bundled into 93454 (Catheter placement in coronary artery[s] for coronary angiography, including intraprocedural injection[s] for coronary angiography, imaging supervision and interpretation).The classification XXX (Global surgical rules do not apply) means that the service is truly free of global surgical bundling issues, and you can separately report services performed on the same date as the surgical procedure (such as E/M services).
You’ve reached your limit of free articles. Already a subscriber? Log in.
Not a subscriber? Subscribe today to continue reading this article. Plus, you’ll get:
  • Simple explanations of current healthcare regulations and payer programs
  • Real-world reporting scenarios solved by our expert coders
  • Industry news, such as MAC and RAC activities, the OIG Work Plan, and CERT reports
  • Instant access to every article ever published in your eNewsletter
  • 6 annual AAPC-approved CEUs*
  • The latest updates for CPT®, ICD-10-CM, HCPCS Level II, NCCI edits, modifiers, compliance, technology, practice management, and more
*CEUs available with select eNewsletters.

Other Articles in this issue of

Cardiology Coding Alert

View All