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Pulmonology Coding Alert

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Diminish Tracheostomy Tube Change Confusion

Published on Mon Jan 30, 2012

Question: Our pulmonologist wants to bill for changing a trach tube for an established tract. I have been looking and the only CPT® code that I can find is 31502. Can an established tract tube change be reported using this code or is there any other code that is more appropriate?Nevada SubscriberAnswer: If the tracheostomy tube change has been done prior to an establishment of fistula tract from anterior neck portion to trachea, the change can be reported with the code 31502 (Tracheotomy tube change prior to establishment of fistula tract). Usually the establishment of a fistula tract takes about seven days. A tracheostomy tube change prior to the fistula tract becoming fully established is the only scenario under which the above mentioned code can be used for the claim.If a tube change has been done as a separate procedure in the operating room under general anesthesia in a patient [...]
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