Pediatric Coding Alert

Question: Before we bill 99211 when a nurse interprets a tuberculosis (TB) test result, we would like to read the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services response that you mention in the August Pediatric Coding Alert. We cannot, however, retrieve the Web site that you list. Can you give us a correct address so we can obtain this CMS response document?

Arizona Subscriber Answer: CMS staff confirmed that TB skin test code 86580 (Skin test; tuberculosis, intradermal) includes only the test administration. Therefore, you can submit 99211 (Office or other outpatient visit for the E/M of an established patient ...) if a patient requires subsequent evaluation of a test and the nurse performs no other service, if the service meets "incident-to" requirements.

You can read more regarding the test code under the heading "Tuberculosis skin test" at http://osslogin.com/content/ossadmin2/cgi/admin.cgi.

To download the e-mail response that CMS sent to Kent Moore, manager of Health Care Financing and Delivery Systems for the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) in Leawood, Kansas, go to www.osslogin.com/docs on The Coding Institute's Web site, and in the document number field enter "48."