Gastroenterology Coding Alert

Question: A patient complained of severe acidity, coughing, and chest pain for over two months. The patient had been taking anti-acidity medication, and previous pH testing was inconclusive. The provider performed an esophageal “motility study” with perfusion for the patient. How do we code for this procedure?

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Answer: In certain abnormal cases, the pH testing methods may not suffice and your provider may need to resort to “esophageal manometry” or the esophageal “motility study” to evaluate the function of muscles of the esophagus. In this test, the provider places a catheter with a sensor tip in the esophagus to record pressure variations during swallowing and ingestion of food. For the basic test, you may report 91010 (Esophageal motility (manometric study of the esophagus and/or gastroesophageal junction) study with interpretation and report).

The GI may add a stimulating agent in motility testing. He may also order acid perfusion (Bernstein) test studies along with manometry to confirm whether a symptom of chest pain has been really caused due to GERD. In this case, you will report add-on code +91013 (... with stimulation or perfusion …).