Ob-Gyn Coding Alert

Question: Can you code for the preparation of the Pap smear slide using 99000?

An anonymous subscriber from Texas

Answer: The 99000 is a code under Special Services and Reports for the purpose of handling and/or conveyance of specimen for transfer from the physicians office to a laboratory. While most gynecology practices do not perform the lab work on pap smears, they do prepare the slides and may even personally transport them to the laboratory. Technically, you can use this code for these services, but there are a few things you may want to consider. First, according to our panel of experts, few payers, including the Blues and Medicare, will pay for this code, and for those payers that do, reimbursement would only be several dollars. Second, ACOG believes that preparation of the slide and associated work is part of the collection and, therefore, it is inappropriate to code for the preparation of the slide as well as specimen collection. In addition, most labs pick up the specimen, so that office staff does not have to take them to the lab.