General Surgery Coding Alert

Answer: Marcaine is one of many local anesthetics generally used in minor surgical procedures, says Susan Callaway-Stradley, a coding and reimbursement specialist in North Augusta, S.C. As such, it is considered bundled into the reimbursement for the surgical procedure based on CPT definition, which states that the surgical package includes local infiltration, metacarpal/digital block or topical anesthesia when used . . . and should not be billed. This rule is consistent with commercial carriers and Medicare. If you wish to track this drug internally for records keeping without billing insurance carriers, use J3490 (unclassified drugs), with a zero dollar value.