Otolaryngology Coding Alert

Question: Our audiologists mostly perform 92557. Can an audio tech do this for Medicare, then we bill under the physician?

Michigan Subscriber

Answer: You cannot bill 92557 to Medicare when an audio tech performs it because the procedure has no technical component (TC). Remember, you can only use audio techs when there is no professional thought process: only codes that have professional (26) and technical (TC) components associated with them.

Audio techs can only perform the TC under direct supervision of physician. Some of the codes you can bill include:

• Vestibular procedures 92540-92548, where audio techs can do the TC part (doctor, NPP or audiologist does PC)
• 92585 (Auditory evoked potentials for evoked response audiometry and/or testing of the central nervous system; comprehensive)
• 92587 (Evoked otoacoustic emissions; limited [single stimulus level, either transient or distortion products])
• 92588 (Evoked otoacoustic emissions; comprehensive or diagnostic evaluation [comparison of transient and/or distortion product otoacoustic emissions at multiple levels and frequencies])
• 92567 (Tympanometry [impedance testing]) is allowed per Transmittal 84 (see http://www.cms.gov/Transmittals/Downloads/R84BP.pdf) since it is mostly automatic.