Pulmonology Coding Alert

Question: I have no idea how to report albuterol treatment in an office. Is the procedure billable?

Idaho Subscriber

Answer: Yes. You should report albuterol administration with 94640 (Pressurized or nonpressurized inhalation treatment for acute airway obstruction or for sputum induction for diagnostic purposes [e.g., with an aerosol generator, nebulizer, metered dose inhaler or intermittent positive pressure breathing {IPPB} device]) -- also known as the nebulizer treatment code -- and the appropriate HPCPS J code.

Your J code choices should include:

• J7611 -- Albuterol, inhalation solution, FDA-approved final product, non-compounded, administered through DME, concentrated form, 1 mg

• J7612 -- Levalbuterol, inhalation solution, FDA-approved final product, non-compounded, administered through DME, concentrated form, 0.5 mg

• J7613 - Albuterol, inhalation solution, FDA-approved final product, non-compounded, administered through DME, unit dose, 1 mg

• J7614 -- Levalbuterol, inhalation solution, FDA-approved final product, non-compounded, administered through DME, unit dose, 0.5 mg.

Bonus: You cannot bill for compounded bronchodilator agents.

-- The answers to the Reader Questions and You Be the Coder were provided and reviewed by Alan L. Plummer, MD, professor of medicine in the division of pulmonary, allergy, and critical care at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta; and Carol Pohlig, BSN, RN, CPC, ASC, senior coding and education specialist at the University of Pennsylvania department of medicine in Philadelphia.