Pathology/Lab Coding Alert

NCCI 10.0 adds edit pairs for new code

No sooner is the ink dry on code 88112 (Cytopathology, selective cellular enhancement technique with interpretation [e.g., liquid-based slide preparation method], except cervical or vaginal) in CPT 2004 than NCCI Edits adds 13 new edit pairs restricting the use of the code. The code and the edit pairs became effective Jan. 1.
 
You should not report together any of the code pairs shown in the chart below to describe cytopathology services for the same specimen. "But if you perform two separate cytology services on different specimens from the same patient on the same day, you can override the edit pair using modifier -59 [Distinct procedural service]," says Beth McDevitt, CPC, coding and audit specialist with Pathology Service Associates LLC (PSA), a nationwide organization headquartered in Florence, S.C., that provides coding, compliance, billing, and marketing services to pathologists. A modifier indicator of "1," as opposed to "0," means that you can override the edit pair, when appropriate.