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Otolaryngology Coding Alert

Thyroid Coding:

Find Out When to Report Dissections Separate From Thyroidectomy

Published on Sat Jan 22, 2011

Heads up: "Functional," "selective," and "radical" refer to the same procedure. Thinking you know thyroidectomy codes through and through may set you up for disaster. You really have to study the code descriptors and know the terminology associated with neck dissection to accurately code these procedures. Tip: When coding for thyroidectomy procedures (60240-60271), keep a close eye on the code descriptors. "Many of them include all of the procedures that the otolaryngologist performed, so you won't have to report additional codes for the auxiliary services," says Barbara J. Cobuzzi, MBA, CPC, CENTC, CPC-H, CPC-P, CPC-I, CHCC, president of CRN Healthcare Solutions, a consulting firm in Tinton Falls, N.J. Decide Whether to Report Dissections Challenge yourself with the following examples. Suppose your otolaryngologist removes both thyroid lobes with the isthmus and pyramid lobe tissue. He also identifies and excises all enlarged lymph nodes. The malignancy has not spread significantly, so the [...]
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