Gastroenterology Coding Alert

Question: A patient receives office injections for vitamin B12. She supplies the medicine. Do we need to include the supply code to get CPT 96372 paid? Alaska Subscriber Answer: Yes, you need to include the appropriate supply code: J3420 (Injection, vitamin B-12 cyanocobalamin, up to 1000 mcg). Even though the patient brings her own B-12 supply for injection, you risk getting an automated denial for the administration code (96372, Therapeutic, prophylactic, or diagnostic injection [specify substance or drug]; subcutaneous or intramuscular) if you fail to include the supply code. Do not bill the carrier for the drug's cost, or else you become liable for fraud. Enter a charge of $0.01 (since line items with a zero charge may get missed or scrubbed from the claim) to reflect that the drug was given   but no charge is being billed for it. Error averted: If the reason for the office visit was [...]