READER QUESTIONS:
Ask OR About Fluoro Charges
Published on Sun May 13, 2007
Question: I code for a hospital radiology department (not a physician). If we send personnel and equipment to the operating room to provide fluoro during surgery, can I code for this, or does the OR get the credit when it charges for time?
Washington Subscriber
Answer: You need to ask yourself two questions before you charge for this fluoro:
1. Is the fluoro bundled into the procedure?
Payers often bundle fluoro into procedures and instruct you not to unbundle it.
2. When fluoro isn't bundled, is the OR charging for it?
The surgeon may perform a procedure with a recognized imaging component (such as fluoroscopic guidance for a central catheter, +77001, or endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography supervision and interpretation, 74328-74330). In those cases, you may charge for the imaging as long as the OR doesn't charge for it, too.