Question: When the surgeon places a port for chemotherapy access, the patient might require local anesthesia to numb the skin and tissue. Which procedure code should I report then?
Tennessee Subscriber
Answer: A definitive answer would require more information, because several codes are available, depending on the details of the case.
If your pain management specialist places the pump, you need to know the following information to select the proper code for venous access procedures:
Your code options in this scenario are:
If, however, you are only coding for anesthesia administration while another surgeon places the pump, you’ll submit 00532 (Anesthesia for access to central venous circulation), which has a base value of four units.