Neurosurgery Coding Alert

Question: Can we bill diagnostic angiograms done during the same operative session as an aneurysm coiling which we report with 61624 (Transcatheter permanent occlusion or embolization [e.g., for tumor destruction, to achieve hemostasis, to occlude a vascular malformation], percutaneous, any method; central nervous system [intracranial, spinal cord])?Florida SubscriberAnswer: Your surgeon does the aneurysm coiling as an intervention. According to CPT®, diagnostic angiograms performed at the time of an interventional procedure may be separately reported if no prior catheter-based angiographic study is available, a full diagnostic study is performed, and the decision for intervention is based on the diagnostic study OR a prior study is available but, as documented in the medical record, the patient's condition has changed since the prior study, there is inadequate visualization of the anatomy and/or pathology on that study, or there is a clinic change during the procedure that requires a new evaluation outside the target [...]