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Cardiology Coding Alert

Reader Question:

Probe Placement

Published on Fri Mar 01, 2002

Question: Our cardiologist performed a transesophageal echocardiogram (including placing the probe). My physician says I should use 93312, since he performs the entire procedure. I have been using 93313, 93314, 93320-26 and 93325-26 to code the service. I think the component codes should be reported because hospital equipment is used. How should this be coded?
     
Pennsylvania Subscriber
 
Answer: Ownership or location of the equipment is not a factor in selecting 93312 (Echocardiography, transesophageal, real time with image documentation ...), 93313 ( placement of transesophageal probe only) or 93314 ( image acquisition, interpretation and report only). The only factor that matters is what the cardiologist performed. If the placement of the probe and the imaging are documented, 93312 is correct as it combines 93313 and 93314.
 
To address the fact that the cardiologist performs the procedure in the hospital and does not own the equipment, append modifier -26 (Professional component) to 93312, just as you have appended it to 93320 (Doppler echocardiography, pulsed wave and/or continuous wave with spectral display ...) and 93325 (Doppler echocardiography color flow velocity mapping ...).

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