Cardiology Coding Alert

Question: A payer denied our claim for an established patient office visit in addition to CPT 96372. We appended modifier 25 and appealed but were denied again. What are we doing wrong? Texas SubscriberAnswer: If you're billing a payer that follows the Correct Coding Initiative (CCI), the edits bundle office visit codes 99212-99215 (Office or other outpatient visit for the evaluation and management of an established patient ...) into therapeutic injection code 96372 (Therapeutic, prophylactic, or diagnostic injection [specify substance or drug]; subcutaneous or intramuscular).Good news: If your documentation supports the office visit as significant and separately identifiable from the E/M associated with the procedure code 96372, you are allowed to overridethe edit with a modifier, such as modifier 25 (Significant, separately identifiable evaluation and management service by the same physician on the same day of the procedure or other service), as you did. Be sure you append modifier 25 [...]