Be sure you have the right code, whether you test for 1 element or all 10. Urinalysis may seem like a simple test commonly performed in pediatric practices, but the not-so-simple requirements for performing this test can help you understand which code applies to your case and when you should append modifier QW (CLIA waived test). Start With the Common Factors To ensure proper coding of urinalysis tests, review the requirements for each of the following codes: The test: For the tablet test, the tester brings the tablet in contact with the urine sample according to manufacturer instructions (such as dropping the tablet into a tube with a diluted sample). The tester waits for a reaction to occur, which again results in color change of the urine specimen. In both cases, the color changes reveal the results when compared against a manufacturer-supplied key color chart. Constituents: Master Automation and Microscopy to Distinguish Codes To choose the proper code for your case, you must determine whether the test is automated and whether it includes microscopy, as shown below: Non-automated: Automated: Microscopy: Clue In to QW With CLIA-Waived List Tip One added element you must consider is whether to append modifier QW to your UA code. Modifier QW indicates you're reporting a test given waived status under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA). To perform waived tests, a practice doesn't need to meet the requirements mandated for more complicated tests, but the practice does need a CLIA certificate of waiver (www.cms.gov/CLIA/downloads/HowObtainCertificateofWaiver.pdf). Watch out: If you look at the current CLIA List of Waived Tests, you will see 81002 listed on the first page. Keep searching and you also will find entries for 81003-QW (download the list from www.cms.gov/CLIA/10_Categorization_of_Tests.asp). Coding point: All of the tests that fall under 81002 are CLIA-waived, regardless of manufacturer. Consequently, 81002 does not require QW "because the tests are inherently waived and never need to be distinguished from tests that do not have the CLIA-waived designation," explains Helen Avery, CPC, CHC, CPC-I, corporate revenue integrity senior manager with California-based Dignity Health. In contrast, some 81003 tests are CLIA-waived while others are not. "You would not use QW for 81003 unless the kit/reagent used to perform the test matches both test name and manufacturer as it appears on the list," says Avery. Example: Leave QW Off of Microscopy Codes Two codes you won't find on the CLIA-waived tests list are 81000 and 81001. Instead of being CLIA-waived, these codes are on the Provider-Performed Microscopy Procedure (PPMP) list because both require microscopic evaluation of the urine specimen, says Avery. You should not use modifier QW with these PPMP codes. But you also should be aware that your practice may perform (and therefore report) these tests only when it meets specific requirements. "To perform these services, the provider must have a CLIA certificate of PPMP (provider-performed microscopy procedures)," explains Trites. "They may not be performed by a lab with only a waived certificate," she adds. Another important PPMP requirement is that only the physician or a midlevel practitioner may perform the microscopic examination, notes Gilhooly. (You'll find additional specifics at www.cdc.gov/clia/ppm.aspx.) Final caution: