ED Coding and Reimbursement Alert

Question: Our physicians use "Foley irrigation" or "irrigation via catheter" for some patients with retention problems. They came to us from a small cruise-ship facility that already installed a Foley. Can I report 51700 for irrigating the bladder? Florida Subscriber Answer: In your case, you can report 51700* (Bladder irrigation, simple, lavage and/or instillation), but notation from the physician would help your documentation. Payers may otherwise interpret your physician's work as a nursing function and pay accordingly. In the future, ask the physician to supply some wording in the procedure note as to why he's doing the irrigation.

Regardless of whether you have the physician's note, your report should be legitimate. The physician has irrigated the catheter to confirm proper placement. This added service keeps the patient from the unpleasant experience of taking it out and replacing it with a new one. Note, however, that your case is unique because the physician didn't place the Foley. According to CCI edits, if the physician does place the Foley, you can't report 51700 as a separately identifiable service.

You Be the Coder and Reader Questions reviewed by Mike Granovsky, MD, CPC, CFO, of Greater Washington Emergency in suburban Maryland.