Cardiology Coding Alert

Question: Per the documentation, my cardiologist introduced a catheter through the patient’s skin and moved the guidewire into the peripheral artery under fluoroscopic guidance. They advanced the tip of the catheter to the coronary artery opening and secured the tip at the beginning of the coronary artery. They then injected contrast material through the catheter into the artery to check the position of the catheter and produced angiographic images. My cardiologist removed the catheter and applied pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding. My cardiologist performed the imaging supervision and interpre­tation for this procedure. Which code should I report?

Maine Subscriber

Answer: You should report 93454 (Catheter placement in coronary artery(s) for coronary angiography, including intraprocedural injection(s) for coronary angiography, imaging supervision and interpretation) since your provider performed the imaging supervision and interpretation for this procedure.

Don’t miss: Your cardiologist will perform a 93454 procedure, which is a coronary angiography in which injections are performed, to assess any coronary artery disease or any stenosis within the artery.

You should report 93454 to represent only imaging supervision and interpretation for this procedure.