Pulmonology Coding Alert

No longer should you report an umbrella code for malignant lung/bronchial tumors.

If you're getting denials to your malignant lung tumor and pleural effusion claims, chances are you're looking at the wrong category. In 2009, ICD-9 switched to new diagnosis for these conditions. Don't compromise your practice's deserved dollars with old-school thinking. Get yourself in line with modern times by taking this quiz.

Test Yourself With These Scenarios

Scenario 1: The pulmonologist performs bronchial biopsies on a mass in a patient's upper bronchus. Pathology reports come back indicating a malignant carcinoid tumor. What should you report?

Scenario 2: X-ray results brought to the pulmonologist's office indicate that the patient has a probable malignant pleural effusion. The pulmonologist performs a thoracentesis with tube on a patient with malignant cancer of the main bronchus. What codes would you bill in this case? Turn to page 5 and compare your answers with the solutions provided.