Pulmonology Coding Alert

Don't make this common post-op consult coding error. Consultation coding -- with all its prerequisites and documentation requirements -- can leave even confident coders perplexed. Review this uncomplicated advice to avoid denials of both your regular and surgical pulmonology consults. Don't Let Surgery Consults Confound You Some coders face a quandary when their pulmonologists get involved in a surgical case, but these operative consult rules and this often-overlooked opportunity can help. When your pulmonologist is asked to consult on another doctor's patient in the office before surgery, you will typically report both an outpatient consultation code (99241-99245) with the diagnosis code for a pre-op respiratory exam (V72.82), says Carol Pohlig, BSN, RN, CPC, ACS, senior coding and education specialist with the University of Pennsylvania Department of Medicine in Philadelphia. Make sure to document the patient's underlying condition, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD, 490-496) or asthma (493.xx), since such conditions put [...]