Cardiology Coding Alert

Question: We have the following situation: The patient has the technical component of a diagnostic service performed at an outreach clinic. The tracing or film is couriered or sent electronically to our physicians office for the professional interpretation. We bill for the professional component of the service. What place of service should we list when we bill for the professional component?

New York Subscriber

Answer: The procedure should be billed listing the place of service where it actually was performed, says Terry Fletcher, BS, CPC, CCS-P, a coding and reimbursement specialist in Laguna Beach, Calif. So in this case, 22 should be entered in section 24b as the place of service code on the HCFA 1500 claim form. This also applies, for example, to reading echos for inpatients.

Even though the physician can read them either in the hospital or at his office, the inpatient place of service should be billed.