Pathology/Lab Coding Alert

Question: Can we bill the H. pylori detection and antibiotic resistance panel from American Molecular Laboratories for a fecal specimen since the code definition states “formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded or fresh tissue” as the specimen?

Maine Subscriber

Answer: Yes, you can report 0008U (Helicobacter pylori detection and antibiotic resistance, DNA, 16S and 23S rRNA, gyrA, pbp1, rdxA and rpoB, next generation sequencing, formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded or fresh tissue, predictive, reported as positive or negative for resistance to clarithromycin, fluoroquinolones, metronidazole, amoxicillin, tetracycline and rifabutin) for a fecal specimen.

In fact, CPT^® 2020 revises the code definition for this test specifically to add “or fecal sample” to the code definition.

Remember: This is a proprietary laboratory analysis (PLA) code, so you should report 0008U only for the AmHPR^® test by American Molecular Laboratories, Inc.