General Surgery Coding Alert

Polyp treatment will affect your CPT code choice, but not necessarily the dx. Even veteran general surgery coders struggle with the challenge of properly coding a screening-turned-diagnostic colonoscopy. Plus, if you aren't aware of the diagnosis coding pitfalls involved in colonoscopy coding, your job becomes even more difficult. Good news: If you remember a few key points you'll be sure to pick the correct procedure and diagnosis codes every time. Stick to G Codes for Screening Only If your surgeon performs a screening colonoscopy for a Medicare patient, choose between two G codes: G0121 (Colorectal cancer screening; colonoscopy on individual not meeting criteria for high risk) for an average-risk patient receiving a screening colonoscopy, or G0105 (Colorectal cancer screening; colonoscopy on individual at high risk) for a high-risk patient. You'll use these G codes "when the doctor is performing strictly a screening colonoscopy," emphasizes Joseph A. Lamm, office manager for [...]