Part B Insider (Multispecialty) Coding Alert

Physicians and suppliers have a host of new "K" codes to get familiar with thanks to a trio of April 11 program memoranda from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Starting in July, you'll bill two new codes for surgical dressings, according to transmittal AB-03-043: K0620 for tubular elastic dressing, any width, per linear yard; and K0621 for gauze, packing strips, non-impregnated, less than or equal to two inches, per linear yard.

And CMS also added temporary K codes for dialysis supplies, speech-generating devices, automatic defibrillators and supplies in transmittal AB-03-044. K0610 through K0614 cover dialysis supplies, including clamps, extension lines and cleaning solutions.

The new codes K0615 through K0617 will cover speech-generating devices with digitized speech and prerecorded messages. The different codes cover devices with more or less recording time. These codes replace K0542, which CMS is retiring.

Also, K0606 will cover automatic defibrillators with integrated electrocardiogram analysis, and K0607 through K0609 will cover defibrillator supplies such as replacement batteries, garments and electrodes.

Finally, transmittal AB-03-045 added K0618 and K0619 to cover thoracic lumbar sacral orthoses with either two or three rigid plastic shells.