Oncology & Hematology Coding Alert

Here's why you shouldn't report every drug in the regimen. An oncologist may prescribe a combination of drugs for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients. And if your practice bears the drugs' cost, that means you have multiple HCPCS codes to report correctly. Case in point: The CHOP regimen involves four drugs, requiring you to determine the proper codes, the proper units, and even whether you should report each drug. Learn from the experts as they walk you through the CHOP essentials. You Can't Spell CHOPWithout Hydroxydaunomycin The letters in CHOP stand for the following, says Kelly Loya, CPC-I, CPhT, senior consultant with Los Angeles-based Sinaiko Healthcare Consulting: • C: cyclophosphamide • H: hydroxydaunomycin (doxorubicin HCl) • O: Oncovin (vincristine) • P: prednisone. The clinical team often administers CHOP over a number of cycles. For example, the patient may receive treatment every 21 days, with prednisone taken over five days, for six cycles. [...]