Radiology Coding Alert
Dive Into Descriptors to Know When Imaging Guidance is Included
Question: I’m new to coding and I have a report that indicates the provider performed a therapeutic injection of the patient’s left knee with ultrasound guidance. The practice has reported 20610 and 76942 to report similar procedures in the past, but I don’t think those codes are correct. What codes should we report for this encounter? Kansas Subscriber Answer: You are correct. Those two codes should not be used together to report the procedure. Code 20610 (Arthrocentesis, aspiration and/or injection, major joint or bursa (eg, shoulder, hip, knee, subacromial bursa); without ultrasound guidance) specifically calls out “without ultrasound guidance” in its descriptor, which means you cannot report this code and then report 76942 (Ultrasonic guidance for needle placement (eg, biopsy, aspiration, injection, localization device), imaging supervision and interpretation) to receive additional reimbursement for the imaging guidance. Instead, you should report only 20611 (… with ultrasound guidance, with permanent recording and reporting) for this procedure, since this code includes both the therapeutic injection of the knee and ultrasound guidance.
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Dive Into Descriptors to Know When Imaging Guidance is Included
Question: I’m new to coding and I have a report that indicates the provider performed a [...]
