Ob-Gyn Coding Alert

Learn the good and bad news about this section shift. Just as you were getting to know codes 90765-90779 (Subcutaneous infusion for therapy or prophy-laxis...) -- which CPT debuted last January --you need to forget what you learned and start coding a new way. But take heart: the new codes are  almost indistinguishable from the old ones. Go In-Depth With This Change CPT 2009, which takes effect on Jan. 1, deletes the entire -Therapeutic, Prophylactic, and Diagnostic Injections and Infusions- section (90765-90779). Instead, you-ll find a new section entitled -Therapeutic, Prophylactic, and Diagnostic Injections and Infusions (Excludes Chemotherapy and Other Highly Complex Drug or Highly Complex Biologic Agent Administration.- The codes in the new section will run from 96365 (Intravenous infusion, for therapy, prophylaxis, or diagnosis [specify substance or drug]; initial, up to 1 hour) through 96379 (Unlisted therapeutic, prophylactic, or diagnostic intravenous or intra-arterial injection or infusion). Good news: -The new codes seem to mirror the old ones in that the descriptors are practically identical,- says Heather Corcoran, coding manager for CGH Billing in Louisville, Ky. Rationale: -It's clear that CPT added new introductory notes and must have wanted the codes further back in the medicine section than where they used to be -- sandwiched between vaccine codes and psychiatry codes,- Corcoran says. Bad news: You will have to change every single encounter form to demonstrate that the no longer viable code 90772 is now 96372 (Therapeutic, prophylactic or diagnostic injection [specify substance or drug]; subcutaneous or intramuscular). For instance, if your ob-gyn provides a Depo-Provera injection for contraceptive, you should report 96372 in 2009.