Ophthalmology and Optometry Coding Alert

Question: One of our physicians wants to know if we can bill for indocyanine-green dye. He said it is used for membrane peels and complex cataract surgery in an ambulatory setting and that the vials are costly. Can we bill for this? If so, what is the most appropriate code, and is there a specific diagnosis that would also go along with this?

Arizona Subscriber

Answer: You should not separately report the indocyanine-green (ICG) dye itself. Using the ICG dye is considered part of the procedure. You’ll report 92240 (Indocyanine-green angiography (includes multiframe imaging) with interpretation and report, unilateral or bilateral) for this procedure.

Similar situation: The guidelines for reporting ICG dye are the same as when you report a fluorescein angiography (92235, Fluorescein angiography (includes multiframe imaging) with interpretation and report, unilateral or bilateral): You don’t report the actual fluorescein dye used in the procedure.