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Orthopedic Coding Alert

You Be the Coder:

Report Joint Injection Once or Twice?

Published on Fri Aug 01, 2003

Question: If I remove fluid from a patients knee joint and then inject Depomedrol into that same joint, can I report 20605* (Arthrocentesis, aspiration and/or injection; intermediate joint or bursa [e.g., temporomandibular, acromioclavicular, wrist, elbow or ankle, olecranon bursa]) twice, or must I report it only once?

Oklahoma Subscriber

Answer: Before you decide how many units you can report for this service, you should go back to your CPT manual and find the correct code. Code 20605* (Arthrocentesis, aspiration and/or injection; intermediate joint or bursa [e.g., temporomandibular, acromioclavicular, wrist, elbow or ankle, olecranon bursa]) refers to intermediate joints, so you shouldnt report this code for a major joint such as the knee.

Instead, you should report 20610* (Arthrocentesis, aspiration and/or injection; major joint or bursa [e.g., shoulder, hip, knee joint, subacromial bursa]). Because the descriptor says aspiration and/or injection, one unit of this code reflects both the aspiration and the injection. You should report 20610 only once.
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