Pathology/Lab Coding Alert

Enhance your coding savvy with 5 definitions You can't avoid technical jargon if you want to get your molecular diagnostics coding right -- "amplification," "target" and "signal" are just a few of the terms you need to know. Although CPT 2008 revises codes 83898-83901 and 83908 to clarify terminology, as discussed in "Ramp Up Your Multiplex Amplification Coding With These Tips" in this issue, you won't know how to use the codes without the following definition key: - Amplification -- This process involves duplicating one or more nucleic acid sequences from patient DNA to make more copies for testing. "The larger sample acquired through amplification improves the quality of testing," says Diana Voorhees, MA, CLS, MT (ASCP) SH, CLCP, principal with DV and Associates Inc. in Salt Lake City. - Multiplex -- These procedures amplify more than one nucleic acid sequence in a single tube. - Nucleic acid sequence -- This refers to a specific range of base pairs from a molecule such as DNA. - Signal -- This refers to the fluorescent tag used to identify a nucleic acid sequence during molecular diagnostics testing. - Target -- For molecular diagnostics testing, this refers to the specific nucleic acid sequence that is of interest.