Oncology & Hematology Coding Alert

Question: Can I report 36550 for declotting a catheter using Activase after nurses couldn't get a blood return from a port? The nursing staff told me this is separate from accessing a chemo infusion site.

Pennsylvania Subscriber

Answer: You should be able to report 36550 (Declotting by thrombolytic agent of implanted vascular access device or catheter) for this declotting service.

Key: Activase is a thrombolytic agent. The descriptor says, -by thrombolytic agent,- so if the provider didn't use a thrombolytic agent, you could not use this code.

You should also let the clinical staff know to clearly docaument this procedure in the patient's medical record