Pathology/Lab Coding Alert
And/OrDictates Influenza A/B Test Code
Question: Our lab carries out an influenza A/B test using a commercial kit called ZstatFlu Test. Which influenza code should we use to report this service, 87400 or 87804? North Carolina Subscriber Answer: Select the proper code for an influenza test based on the test method used. ZstatFlu Test provides, based on enzyme activity, a qualitative determination of the presence of either influenza A or B, but it does not distinguish between the two types. Neither of the codes you mention describes this test. Code 87804 (Infectious agent antigen detection by immunoassay with direct optical observation; Influenza) is not the appropriate code because it does not describe an enzyme test.
Code 87400 (Infectious agent antigen detection by enzyme immunoassay technique, qualitative or semiquantitative, multiple step method; Influenza, A or B, each) describes an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) test that can provide separate determinations for influenza A or B antigens. Although the ZstatFlu uses EIA methodology, you should not report it as 87400 because it does not distinguish between type A and B. Rather, you should report this test with the nonspecific EIA code: 87449 (Infectious agent antigen detection by enzyme immunoassay technique, qualitative or semiquantitative; multiple step method, not otherwise specified, each organism).
Pathology/Lab Coding Alert
- Source Is Key to Stem-Cell Harvesting Codes
Stem-Cell Codes Add Up to Accurate Reimbursement "New and improved" would be a fair moniker [...] - CPT 2003 Infuses Lifeblood Into Apheresis Codes
Outdated CPT descriptors kept coders scratching their heads when reporting apheresis procedures. Not any more, [...] - Modify Confusion Learn When to Use -91 and -59
When a payer assumes that you've either unbundled or duplicate-billed, modifier -59 (Distinct procedural [...] - You Be the Coder:
Stationary/Mobile Phase Determines Drug Screen Coding
Test your coding knowledge. Determine how you would code this situation before looking at the [...] - Same CPT Code for Different Tests:
Should Labs Use Modifier -91,-59 or None at All? What's a coder to do when [...] - Reader Question:
Differentiate Physician-Office Lab Urine Tests
Question: Which code should our physician-office lab use to report urine tests that we perform [...] - Reader Question:
Weigh in on New Hysterectomy Codes
Question: Will the new surgery codes for myomectomy and hysterectomy (58146, 58545-58554 and 58290-58294) impact [...] - Reader Question:
And/OrDictates Influenza A/B Test Code
Question: Our lab carries out an influenza A/B test using a commercial kit called ZstatFlu [...] - Reader Question:
Breast Sampling Method Controls Code
Question: Should we code the interpretation of a breast fine-needle aspirate (FNA) differently depending on [...] - Reader Question:
Ask Medicare for Bilateral Bone Marrow Correction
Question: We sometimes perform bone marrow aspirations or biopsies bilaterally, one each from the left [...]
