Cardiology Coding Alert

Question: At the time we purchased a cardiac event recorder, we noted that there were allowable codes for 24 hours and for recording during business hours. When reviewing CPT recently, I could not find the code for the business day coverage only. Has this code been eliminated?

Patty Johnson
Ft. Myers, Fla.

Answer: Code 93271 (patient demand single or multiple event recording with presymptom memory loop, per 30-day period of time; monitoring, receipt of transmissions, and analysis) has not been deleted and is part of a series of codes that includes 93268-93272, says C.J. Wolf, MD, CPC, senior coding consultant, Intermountain Health Care, a multi-specialty practice in Salt Lake City. The parent code in this series, 93268, reads, patient demand single or multiple event recording with presymptom memory loop, per 30-day period of time. This parent code includes transmission, physician review and interpretation. If you are performing just the recording portion (includes hook-up, recording, and disconnection), then you only report 93270. If you are reporting monitoring, receipt of transmissions, and analysis then report 93271. If you are billing only for the physicians review and interpretation, then report 93272. If you perform all the subcomponent procedures, you should bundle them together and report 93268.

For Medicare patients, cardiac event recordings can be billed 93268-93271 or HCPCS codes G0004-G0007, depending on whether 24-hour continuous monitoring is provided. Use codes 93268-93271 for those services that do not provide access to 24-hour monitoring.