Gastroenterology Coding Alert
Assign Appropriate V Codes For Screening Colonoscopies
Question: For BCBS and other third party insurance carriers, when a patient comes to our office to see the doctor and has no symptoms and is just visiting to get acquainted with the doctor and go over medical history, do we l report V76.51 alone?
Vancouver Subscriber
Answer: You can use the V code V76.51 (Special screening for malignant neoplasm, colon) for the initial visit if your clinician decides to perform the screening for the patient in the visit. The patient should also meet all the other criteria (age, risk, no symptoms) to undergo the screening colonoscopy. This code is reported as the primary diagnosis code to support the screening procedure.
When your gastroenterologist records the patient’s history and finds a family history of malignant neoplasm of the gastrointestinal tract or a personal history of malignant neoplasm of the large intestine, these findings should be recorded as secondary codes. So you will use V10.05 (Personal history of malignant neoplasm, large intestine), V12.72 (Personal history of colonic polyps) or V16.0 (Family history of malignant neoplasm, gastrointestinal tract) as secondary codes to support the screening procedure if your gastroenterologist records pertinent history in the documentation.
Gastroenterology Coding Alert
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