Cardiology Coding Alert

Question: The patient was put in the supine position with their chest exposed, and my cardiologist attached heart monitoring nodes to their chest after noting down the baseline cardiac output rates. My cardiologist also inserted an intravenous cannula into the patient’s arm and administered procainamide to return the heart rate and rhythm to normal. How should I report this procedure?

AAPC Forum Subscriber

Answer: You should report 92961 (Cardioversion, elective, electrical conversion of arrhythmia; internal (separate procedure)). These baseline cardiac output rates mentioned in the question illustrate the abnormality in the heart rate, which helps to analyze the intensity of the electrical shock your provider will deliver.

Don’t miss: Cardioversion, as described in 92961, converts an abnormal heart rate or rhythm to normal using electric shock or drugs.

On the other hand, report 92960 (Cardioversion, elective, electrical conversion of arrhythmia; external) if your provider performs external cardioversion using electric shock.

Coding expertise for this issue provided by Robin Peterson, CPC, CPMA, manager of professional coding and compliance services, Pinnacle Enterprise Risk Consulting Services, LLC in Centennial, Colorado.