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Otolaryngology Coding Alert

Reader Questions:

Give Yourself A Week To Use 31502

Published on Wed May 18, 2011

Question: When a patient comes into the office and needs a tracheotomy tube change and the trach has been in for months, days, can you charge for the tube change 31502? Iowa Subscriber Answer: CPT® 31502 (Tracheotomy tube change prior to establishment of fistula tract) can only be used for about a week after the trach has been put in, and after that the fistula track has been established. After that, trach tube changes becomes a part of E/M, perhaps increasing the complexity of the medical decision making and risk of the encounter. Profit: CPT® 31502 carries a $35.34 national rate for 2011 (1.04 RVUs multiplied by 2011 conversion factor of 33.9764).
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