Primary Care Coding Alert

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Get Proficient With Influenza Coding with These Handy Tips

Don’t let the myriad of choices vex you.

As flu season drags on, you will need to be quick on your toes to get your coding right each time your FP or another appropriate health care professional in your practice administers a flu vaccine. If you don’t know how to report these injections, your practice will face the risk of denials.

Watch for These Key terms When Reporting Appropriate Influenza Vaccine Codes

When someone in your practice administers influenza vaccines, you will need to report a code by checking chart documentation for some of these key terms, which will help you zero in on the right code. The key terms that you will need to focus on to choose the right vaccine code include:

  • Age of the patient
  • Active/Inactivated
  • Recombinant or Live Attenuated
  • Preservative (thimerosal, Hg) free
  • High-dose
  • Administration route
  • Tri- or quadrivalent.

To ease up on your vaccine coding, you can keep this easy to use chart handy. Take the guesswork out of matching brand name vaccines to the corresponding CPT® code for 2015- 16 flu season.

Table Adapted from http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/vaccine/vaccines.htm