Oncology & Hematology Coding Alert
Assign 36511-36516 for Apheresis
Question: We-ve recently begun performing apheresis for leukemia patients. How should we code this procedure? Apheresis (also known as pheresis or therapeutic pheresis) is a medical procedure in which the physician removes selected blood constituents (plasma, leukocytes, platelets, or cells) from whole blood. The physician retransfuses the remainder into the person from whom the blood was taken, in addition to saline or another fluid to maintain blood volume.
Pennsylvania Subscriber
Answer: When reporting apheresis, choose from the following six codes:
- 36511--Therapeutic apheresis; for white blood cells
- 36512--...for red blood cells
- 36513--... for platelets
- 36514--... for plasma pheresis
- 36515--... with extracorporeal immunoadsorption and plasma reinfusion
- 36516--... with extracorporeal selective adsorption or selective filtration and plasma reinfusion.
Oncologists are most likely to perform apheresis in the treatment of leukemia or hyperglobulinemias, including (but not limited to) multiple myelomas.
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