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Pediatric Coding Alert

You Be the Coder:

In-office Hearing Screens

Published on Sun Jul 01, 2001

Test your coding knowledge.  Determine how you would code this situation before looking at the box below for the answer.
 
Question: I just heard that I could use 92585 and 92586 for hearing screens, but that one is for inpatient use and one is for outpatient use. Which can I use in the office?

Montana Subscriber
 
Answer: Look to CPT 92551 (screening test, pure tone, air only) or even 92552 (pure tone audiometry [threshold]; air only) for office-based hearing screens. 

It's not likely that you would perform either 92585 (auditory evoked potentials for evoked response audiometry and/or testing of the central nervous system; comprehensive) or 92586 (... limited). These are tests of brain-stem evoked responses, performed using sophisticated equipment that most pediatricians do not have in their offices. Incidentally, these codes are not related to place of service. The evaluations you are most likely to use are screening or air threshold.

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