ED Coding and Reimbursement Alert

If cerumen is non-impacted, opt for E/M.When patient's report to the ED with painful, infected or impacted earwax, coders are often left scratching their heads when considering whether to code a cerumen removal procedure code or an E/M service.The answer: It depends. Some cerumen removal will warrant a separate CPT code, but there will be instances in which you'll roll the service into the overall E/M level.Know the difference by checking out this cerumen removal FAQ:When Can You Report 69210?In order to code cerumen removal with 69210 (Removal impacted cerumen [separate procedure], 1 or both ears), the physician must perform manual disimpaction under direct visualization, explains Joshua Tepperberg, CPC, EMT-D, coding team leader at Caduceus Inc. in New York City.Also: To code 69210, the physician must remove the impacted cerumen using one of the following methods:suction,probes,forceps,curettes, orright angle hooks."Flushing the ear afterward is sometimes performed [during 69210 service] when there [...]