ED Coding and Reimbursement Alert

Question: My CPT manual says that the definition for modifier 22 is "unusual procedural services." I thought this changed last year. Has the AMA changed the definition again?

South Carolina Subscriber

Answer: You are correct that the definition of modifier 22 should not be "unusual procedural services." The correct definition is "increased procedural services." The definition appears as "unusual services" on the inside cover of the CPT 2009 book, with the new "increased services" definition appearing in Appendix A of CPT 2009.

Visit the American Medical Association (AMA) Web site to review all the CPT 2009 errata information. Navigate to www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/3896.html and click on "Corrections in CPT 2009."

Good practice: Have your CPT manual on hand and go through it, marking all of the fixes directly in your manual so that you-re sure to be working with the most correct, up-to-date information when you-re coding procedures.

Reader Questions and You Be the Coder reviewed by Michael A. Granovsky, MD, CPC, FACEP, president of MRSI, an ED coding and billing company in Woburn, Mass.