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Oncology & Hematology Coding Alert

Reader Questions:

Pace Yourself on 77470 Claims

Published on Sun Sep 18, 2005

Question: My radiation oncologist is treating a patient with a pacemaker. Is there a code I can report to reflect this situation?


Illinois Subscriber
Answer: It depends. If the oncologist documents extra time, effort and resources required to plan treatment for this patient because of the pacemaker, you should be able to report 77470 (Special treatment procedure).

Note: There's no additional code to report extra work for the performance of a special procedure. Be sure the oncologist's documentation reflects extra planning work before you report this code.

Only report 77470 once per course of therapy, even if the patient has an additional problem that requires extra work, such as endocavitary cone irradiation.
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