You Be the Coder:
What Caused 81001 Denial?
Published on Tue Jul 27, 2010
Question: A mom brought her 4-year-old daughter in for painful vaginal area. The FP provided a level IV established patient visit and ordered a urinalysis and pulse oximetry test. The patient had a low PO, and the FP ordered a nebulizer treatment with Xopenex. The urinalysis came back negative, and the physician had the specimen sent out for further growth and culturing. I received a denial for the urinalysis. Did I code the following items incorrectly?Answer:Asthma (493.90, Asthma, unspecified) does not relate to the urinalysis (81001, Urinalysis, by dip stick or tablet reagent for bilirubin, glucose, hemoglobin, ketones, leukocytes, nitrite, pH, protein, specific gravity, urobilinogen, any number of these constituents; automated, with microscopy) and specimen handling (99000, Handling and/or conveyance of specimen for transfer from the physician's office to a laboratory). Refile the urinalysis and specimen handling charges and link them to a secondary diagnosis of vaginal pain (such as [...]