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Oncology & Hematology Coding Alert

Reader Question:

Dig Out 36589 Payment Based on Catheter Type

Published on Fri Jun 25, 2004

Question: Our oncologist has recently begun performing catheter removals. Do you have any tips on how to report 36589? Rhode Island Subscriber Answer: Before you assign 36589 (Removal of tunneled central venous catheter, without subcutaneous port or pump), make sure that the physician has removed a "tunneled" or partially implanted catheter. The removal of non-tunneled catheters, such as PICC lines and other central lines, does not represent a significant procedure. Therefore, the American Medical Association has not assigned a CPT surgical code for those services. If you're using 36589 for tunneled-catheter removal, your oncologist may remove such common catheters as Hickman and Broviac. The documentation for this procedure should specify the type of catheter and the way the physician removed the device. -- Answers to Reader Questions and You Be the Coder were provided by Linda L. Lively, MHA, CCS-P, RCC, CHBME, founder and CEO of American Medical Accounting and Consulting in Marietta, Ga.; and Margaret M. Hickey, MS, MSN, RN, OCN, CORLN, an independent coding consultant based in New Orleans.
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