Neurosurgery Coding Alert

Question: The neurosurgeon spent an hour administering the Boston Naming Test for the patient. This hour included the time he spent face-to-face time with the patient, interpreting the outcome, preparing the report, and discussing the outcome with the patient and his family. What CPT^® code should we report for this service?

Minnesota Subscriber

Answer: You should report 96132 (Neuropsychological testing evaluation services by physician or other qualified health care professional, including integration of patient data, interpretation of standardized test results and clinical data, clinical decision making, treatment planning and report, and interactive feedback to the patient, family member(s) or caregiver(s), when performed; first hour) for this service.

Code 96132 is a new option CPT^® added this year. Code 96132 represents the first hour of neuropsychological testing evaluation services. You should report +96133 (… each additional hour (List separately in addition to code for primary procedure)) for each additional hour.

Neuropsychological tests defined: Neuropsychological tests measure a psychological function known to be linked to a particular brain structure or pathway.