Part B Insider (Multispecialty) Coding Alert

Question: When one pathologist in our practice asks another pathologist in our practice to “reread” pathology slides that have already been read and billed, can we bill for this additional service as a second opinion?

Answer: No, you should not bill for pathology slide “rereads” within your practice. This isn’t a “second opinion” or “consultation” because the two pathologists are in the same practice. You can’t have a consultation with yourself.

Instead, having a pathologist within the group look at slides to confirm/comment on a diagnosis is considered quality assurance and the cost of doing business. That’s true whether the second pathologist in the practice looks at the slides during the initial case, or pulls the slides from archives to look at them later.