Pathology/Lab Coding Alert

Question: I heard that 87913 is a new code for COVID-19 testing. Is that true, and if so, how should we use the code?

Washington Subscriber

Answer: Code 87913 (Infectious agent genotype analysis by nucleic acid (DNA or RNA); severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (coronavirus disease [COVID-19], mutation identification in targeted region(s)) is a new code for COVID testing, but it’s not a test performed to diagnose the condition in a patient.

Genotype analysis: The code describes a test for genotype analysis of the SARS-CoV-2 infectious agent to identify targeted-region mutations in the organism. In other words, this test helps identify which “variant” of SARS-CoV-2 is present in the specimen.

Specimen: The test is not used for diagnosis. In fact, only specimens from individuals with a positive SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test would be submitted for the 87913 test.

Use: Clinicians may order this test to guide patient treatment in certain cases, such as to help distinguish between a persistent infection versus reinfection with a new viral strain. Or clinicians may order the test to identify mutations that could reduce efficacy of certain antiviral medications or vaccine-induced antibodies.

More common: Epidemiological use of the genotype analysis test to evaluate the prevalence of variants within the population is a more common use for the test. When performed for that purpose, 87913 is not a payable test.