Cardiology Coding Alert

Question: The cardiologist incised the skin in the patient’s left upper chest and created a small subcutaneous pocket for implantation of a cardiac rhythm monitor. The cardiologist then positioned the device according to the manufacturer’s instructions, and he tested the device to verify adequate function, then sutured it in place. Finally, he programmed the device and educated the patient on its use. Which CPT^® code should we report for this procedure?

Minnesota Subscriber

Answer: You should report 33285 (Insertion, subcutaneous cardiac rhythm monitor, including programming) for this procedure.

Cardiac monitor defined: A cardiac monitor is a device that records the heart’s electrical activity or electrocardiogram (ECG). A cardiac monitor is either a loop memory monitor that records and stores the patient’s ECG for a time before and during symptoms or a symptom event monitor that does not store the ECG before an event, but records and stores the ECG when it is activated during an event.