Oncology & Hematology Coding Alert

Watch for your chance to replace 86316 with more specific 86305. If your oncology practice has its own lab, heads up. You're sure to find a few new lab codes "in CPT 2010 that you need to know," says Peggy Slagle, CPC, billing compliance coordinator at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. Get started with a look at these three codes you're likely to use in your oncology/hematology practice. Heed New HE4 Code, 86305 CPT 2010 adds ovarian cancer marker code 86305 (Human epididymis protein 4 [HE4]). "HE4 has been shown to be elevated in a great percentage of women with epithelial ovarian carcinomas," says Brenda Chidester-Palmer, CPC, CCS-P, coding compliance manager of Kelsey-Seybold Clinic in Houston in her "2010 Oncology Coding Update" audio seminar (www.audioeducator.com). The test helps monitor disease progression or recurrence, Chidester-Palmer adds. In an example provided by CPT Changes 2010: An Insider's View, the [...]