Pulmonology Coding Alert
Use J0170 for Hemorrhage Drug Treatment
New Jersey Subscriber
Answer: The place of service and the type of procedure will determine the codes you use. For instance, the hospital will cover the cost of the drugs if your physician performed the procedure in the facility. On the other hand, if the physician provided the procedure in the office, you can separately report the appropriate drug codes. To bill for epinephrine, use J0170 (Injection, adrenaline, epinephrine, up to 1 ml ampule). Medicare doesn't list a code for thrombin.
Although you don't specify a procedure, your physician was probably performing a bronchoscopy (31622, Bronchoscopy, rigid or flexible, with or without fluoroscopic guidance; diagnostic, with or without cell washing) when the hemorrhaging occurred. That's because physicians typically use epinephrine during bronchial biopsy procedures to quell excessive bleeding. Most physicians, however, don't commonly use thrombin. CPT does not provide any separate bronchoscopy codes for instillation of epinephrine, thrombin or other drugs.
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