Oncology & Hematology Coding Alert

Watch for these drugs when other treatments have failed.

You'll have a trio of new J codes for leukemia and lymphoma treatments available for use in January.

J9302 Answers Call for Arzerra Code

If you provide Arzerra injections, take heed of new code J9302 (Injection, ofatumumab, 10 mg). Oncologists typically use the medication to treat chronic lymphocytic leukemia in adults who have not responded satisfactorily to fludarabine or alemtuzumab.

As the suffix -mab in ofatumumab indicates, this medication is a monoclonal antibody.

Note: Hospitals previously had a C code available for this agent, C9260 (Injection, ofatumumab, 10 mg). HCPCS 2011 deletes this code. (Remember that C codes are appropriate only for Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System claims.)

Focus on J9307 for Folotyn

Another new J code for 2011 is J9307 (Injection, pralatrexate, 1 mg), which is appropriate for Folotyn.

Oncologists typically use this folate analogue metabolic inhibitor to kill cancer cells in patients with peripheral T-cell lymphoma that has not responded to other medications or has returned.

HCPCS 2011 also deletes the C code available to hospitals for this drug, C9259 (Injection, pralatrexate, 1 mg).

Flip to J9315 for Romidepsin

If your documentation shows your practice supplied Istodax, you have J9315 (Injection, romidepsin, 1 mg) at your service in 2011. The drug is a histone deacetylase inhibitor that slows the growth of cancer cells. It's intended for use in patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma who have been treated previously with another drug.

In 2010, hospitals use C9265 (Injection, romidepsin, 1 mg) for this drug, but HCPCS 2011 deletes this code.

Note: See the At-A-Glance table on page 92 for a quick look at the code changes.