General Surgery Coding Alert

Learn which services you can separately report.

You should have a better understanding of new transcatheter therapy codes after reading “37211-37214: Revamp Non-Coronary Thrombolytic Infusion Coding.” But there’s more. CPT^® 2013 has a new introduction section for codes 37211-37214 (Transcatheter therapy…), and you need to know what it says.

“The introduction covers lots of specific circumstances you might encounter when reporting these codes,” says Marcella Bucknam, CPC, CPC-I, CCS-P, CPC-H, CCS, CPC-P, COBGC, CCC, audit manager for CHAN Healthcare in Vancouver, Wash.

Study the following list to learn the ins-and-outs of using these new codes based on CPT^® instruction:

·         Intraprocedural thrombolytic injections aren’t reportable with mechanical thrombectomy, but 37211-37214 are appropriate for “subsequent or prior continuous infusion of a thrombolytic”

·         For bilateral thrombolytic infusion through separate access sites, append modifier 50 (Bilateral procedure) to 37211 or 37212

·         Report only 37211 or 37212 if the physician begins and completes thrombolysis on the same date (don’t report 37214)

·         Catheter placement(s), diagnostic studies, and other percutaneous interventions may be separately reportable

·         Related E/M services on the same date are included in thrombolysis, but separately identifiable E/M services are reportable with modifier 25 (Significant, separately identifiable evaluation and management service by the same physician or other qualified health care professional on the same day of the procedure or other service).

Ultrasound guidance for vascular access is separately reportable using +76937 (Ultrasound guidance for vascular access requiring ultrasound evaluation of potential access sites, documentation of selected vessel patency, concurrent realtime ultrasound visualization of vascular needle entry, with permanent recording and reporting [List separately in addition to code for primary procedure]), assuming code requirements are met.