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Cardiology Coding Alert

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93501, 93510, or 93526 for Right and Left Cath ?

Published on Wed Sep 22, 2010

Question: Which codes should I assign for right and left cardiac catheterization with native coronary arteriography, and with left and right ventriculography?Mississippi Subscriber Answer: You should bill for the combined right and left heart catheterization using 93526 (Combined right heart catheterization and retrograde left heart catheterization). Don't report the individual codes for right heart cath (93501, Right heart catheterization) and left heart cath (93510, Left heart catheterization, retrograde, from the brachial artery, axillary artery or femoral artery, percutaneous) together when your cardiologist does both in one procedure.Remember: Before you report performance of a left heart cath (whether alone or with a right heart cath), verify that the cardiologist documented crossing over the aorta into the left ventricle. Without that step, the cardiologist hasn't performed a true left heart catheterization.You also should code separately for dye injection into the native coronary arteries using 93545 (Injection procedure during cardiac catheterization; for selective coronary [...]
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