Orthopedic Coding Alert

Question: The inside cover jacket of my CPT manual says that the definition for modifier 22 is -unusual procedural services.- I thought this changed last year. Has the AMA changed the definition again?

South Carolina Subscriber

Answer: You are correct that the definition of modifier 22 should not be -unusual procedural services.- The correct definition is -increased procedural services.- Visit the American Medical Association's Web site to review all the CPT 2009 errata information. Navigate to www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/3896.html and click on -Corrections in CPT 2009.-

Good practice: Have your CPT manual on hand and go through it, marking all of the fixes directly in your manual so that you-re sure to be working with the most correct, most up-to-date information when you-re coding procedures.