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Radiology Coding Alert

You Be the Coder:

Put Your Pancreatitis Coding Skills to the Test

Published on Sun Apr 06, 2008

Question: What CPT and ICD-9 codes should I report for an MRCP for a patient with acute pancreatitis?Texas SubscriberAnswer: For most insurers, including Medicare, you should report 74181 (Magnetic resonance [e.g., proton] imaging, abdomen; without contrast material[s]) for a magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP).Some insurance companies may prefer S8037 (Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography). According to the HCPCS manual, Blue Cross/Blue Shield and the Health Insurance Association of America use S codes to report drugs, services and supplies that have no national codes. Medicaid may also use these codes, but Medicare won't pay them.For acute pancreatitis, you should report 577.0 (Acute pancreatitis).
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