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Ophthalmology and Optometry Coding Alert

Reader Question:

92081-92083 x 1 Suffices for Many Pre-Bleph Exams

Published on Thu Apr 05, 2012

Question: Our doctor saw a patient for droopy eyelids, and to determine the extent to which her droopy eyelids interfered with her vision, he performed two bilateral visual field tests on the same day (Humphrey full-field 120 point). The doctor performed the first field test normally, and the second after taping the patient's eyelids. The diagnosis is dermatochalasis (374.87). How should we code for this procedure? The patient has a commercial insurer that mirrors the Medicare guidelines.Pennsylvania SubscriberAnswer:  Most Medicare carriers want you to report just one code for visual field (VF) tests, even if an ophthalmologist needs to perform the test twice -- once with lids untaped and once with lids taped -- to confirm that the dermatochalasis is interfering with vision. Ophthalmologists often perform these tests prior to performing blepharoplasty procedures to correct the eyelid drooping.For those carriers, report one unit of the appropriate 92081-92083 code (Visual field examination, unilateral or [...]
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