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Neurosurgery Coding Alert

Coding Strategy:

6 Tips Keep Your Spinal Punctures Payment Flowing

Published on Sun Aug 28, 2011

Key: Intent and modifiers will salvage you.Ostensibly simple, the codes for spinal punctures may lead you to denials if you aren't appending the correct modifiers. You can report every unsuccessful, incomplete, and difficult spinal puncture if you are using the correct modifiers. Follow these tips to recoup your reimbursement for every spinal puncture.1. Identify IntentYour surgeon may perform a spinal puncture to either diagnose or treat the underlying condition.Accordingly, you will select from the following two codes:62270 (Spinal puncture, lumbar, diagnostic)62272 (Spinal puncture, therapeutic, for drainage of cerebrospinal fluid [by needle or catheter])"Code 62270 is for diagnostic purposes and 62272 for therapeutic purposes when a patient needs to have a reduction in cerebral spinal fluid pressure," says Teresa Thomas, BBA, RHIT, CPC, practice manager II at St. John's Clinic (Neurosurgery) in Springfield, Missouri. "The difference in these two codes is intent of the procedure. Code 62270 includes injection of contrasts [...]
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