Neurosurgery Coding Alert

Question: What are the changes in fluoroscopy codes that we can anticipate in the next year? Will code 77003 continue to be a valid code for fluoroscopic procedures?

Alaska Subscriber

Answer: In the next year, you will see revision in the fluoroscopy code. CPT^® 2017 includes a revised version of 77003 (Fluoroscopic guidance and localization of needle or catheter tip for spine or paraspinous diagnostic or therapeutic injection procedures [epidural or subarachnoid] [List separately in addition to code for primary procedure]).

What is new? In the descriptor of the code, note the fonts in bold. This is the additional content for the code descriptor. This update clearly implies that you can only submit code 77003 as an add-on code. Fluoroscopy cannot be a standalone procedure.

How does this impact your practice? This change will probably not have much effect on your coding practices, as you always had to list 77003 separately in addition to the primary procedure code.

Caution: There are a number of spinal procedures for which fluoroscopy is considered inherent. Descriptors for several of the interventional procedures state that the fluoroscopy is inclusive in the code as it is inherent to performing the procedure. If a CPT^® code descriptor includes use of fluoroscopy, CPT^® 77003 would not be separately reportable.