Pathology/Lab Coding Alert

Bundles aren't always 'hard and fast.' With six "ovary" listings and five bundling references in CPT® surgical pathology codes, not to mention a host of ICD9 options, you have a lot of choices to make when coding your pathologist's ovary exam. Hone your oophorectomy coding skills with the following three case studies to make sure you select the proper code(s) and capture all the reimbursement your pathologist earns. Case 1: Beware Adnexal Bundling Rules A 48-year-old patient complains of right iliac abdominal pain, and the physician palpates a right adnexal mass. Following pelvic ultrasound indicating an enlarged ovarian mass, a surgeon performs a right salpingo-oophorectomy and sends the tissue to the pathologist for diagnosis. The pathologist finds endometrial implantation in the ovary and diagnoses an endometrial cyst. Also called a "chocolate cyst," the ovary shows evidence of hemorrhage and formation of hematoma containing old, brown blood. The pathologist notes that [...]