Primary Care Coding Alert

Question: I can't find the HCPCS Level II codes for Ethyol, Treanda, Trisenox, and Zoladex. I've looked them up in the HCPCS Level II Index but do not see these drugs listed. How can I find the supply codes to use?

Codify Member

Answer: If your HCPCS reference material does not include these names, you will need to look up the generic names for the brand name drugs you are trying to bill. You can either search online for the generic names, or you can find the corresponding J code in the 2010 HCPCS Table of Drugs. A Google search for the names reveals:

• Amifostine (Ethyol)
• Arsenic trioxide (As2O3, Trisenox)
• Bendamustine (Treanda)
• Goserelin (Zoladex).

You can then look up the generic name in the HCPCS Level II alphabetical index or check for the J code's descriptor in the tabular list. For instance, entering Amifostine in Codify's HCPCS II search box, gives you this result: Alternatively, you could search alphabetically using the HCPCS II Index. For example, looking under G , you would scroll down to Goserelin: J9202 (Goserelin acetate implant, per 3.6 mg).

The codes for the remaining drug brands you inquired about are:

• J9017 -- Injection, arsenic trioxide, 1 mg
• J9033 -- Injection, bendamustine HCl, 1 mg.

Information for and answers to You Be the Coder and Reader Questions reviewed by Kent Moore, manager of health care financing and delivery systems for the American Academy of Family Physicians in Leawood, Kan.