Primary Care Coding Alert

Question:

Tennessee Subscriber

Sports physicals are commonly reported using preventive medicine services codes, since the encounters are not typically problem-oriented. Assuming the physician's documentation reflects an age and gender appropriate history and exam and other elements commonly associated with a preventive medicine encounter, the correct sports physical exam code will depend on the patient's status (i.e., new versus established) and age; choose the appropriate code from 99393-99396 (Periodic comprehensive preventive medicine reevaluation and management of an individual including an age and gender appropriate history, examination, counseling/anticipatory guidance/risk factor reduction interventions, and the ordering of laboratory/diagnostic procedures, established patient ...) or 99383-99386 (Initial comprehensive preventive medicine evaluation and management . . .new patient . . ..), which will cover patients between the ages of 5 and 64 years of age. Include diagnosis V70.3 (Other medical examination for administrative purposes) to support the physical.

For the foreign body removal, submit 65222 (Removal of foreign body, external eye; corneal, with slit lamp) with diagnosis 930.0 (Foreign body on external eye; corneal foreign body).