Ob-Gyn Coding Alert

NSTs monitor the fetus while labor checks assess the mother. If you are reporting 59025 when the ob-gyn checks to determine if a patient is in labor, you may not be coding accurately, even though the procedures are similar. Ob-gyns often use a fetal monitor to determine if a woman is in labor. They use the same device for a fetal non-stress test (NST, 59025). But there are significant differences between the two procedures that require distinct approaches to coding. Use 59025 for NST Only To understand why you can't use 59025 for labor checks, first review what an NST involves. During the procedure, the ob-gyn monitors the fetal heart rate using external transducers. A "reactive" NST will show the fetal heart rate accelerate from the baseline 15 beats per minute for a minimum of 15 seconds at least twice during a 10-minute window. If there are no accelerations after [...]