Radiology Coding Alert

Question: Which ICD-9 Code is appropriate for an extremity and central venogram screening for patency of veins for a pacemaker placement? The patient has no known venous problems.


Georgia Subscriber


Answer: The correct ICD-9 Code for this type of screening - provided that the patient you are coding for has no known venous problems - is V72.81 (Preoperative cardiovascular examination).

If the patient has known venous problems, however, you really should report the diagnosis code for the patient's known venous condition. Because it is rare to perform a blanket screening for all pacemaker patients, it's likely the patient does have some problem in his clinical history to explain why he's getting the test.

Results: As with all screening exams, you can and should report a diagnosis code for the findings - just as long as you do not list it as the primary diagnosis linked to the screening exam. So if the screening reveals a stenosis in the subclavian, for example, you should list this as one of the patient's diagnoses, just not as the primary diagnosis code linked to the screening CPT code.