Otolaryngology Coding Alert

Question: Does the description of 69436 (Tympanostomy [requiring insertion of ventilating tube], general anesthesia) mean that an anesthesiologist's services are included in the physician's service?

Kansas Subscriber

Answer: No. Code 69436 doesn't include anesthesia services. The anesthesiologist should bill his own code for that according to the time the patient was anesthetized. The inclusion of "general anesthesia" in 69436's descriptor is meant to differentiate it from tympanostomy not requiring general anesthesia. For office-based tympanostomy using local or topical anesthesia, the appropriate code is 69433 (Tympanostomy [requiring insertion of ventilating tube], local or topical anesthesia). When a physician performs tympanostomy in an operating room using general anesthesia, you instead report 69436.

Answers to You Be the Coder and Reader Questions reviewed by Barbara J. Cobuzzi, MBA, CPC, CPC-H, CPC-P, CENTC, CHCC, president of New Jersey-based CRN Healthcare Solutions.