Urology Coding Alert

Watch out for 'standards of surgical practice' edits surrounding 55706.If your urologist performs cystectomies or prostate biopsies, take note. The Correct Coding Initiative ( CCI ) takes aim at 51565 (Cystectomy, partial, with reimplantation of ureter[s] into bladder [ureteroneocystostomy]) and CPT 55706 (Biopsies, prostate, needle, transperineal, stereotactic template guided saturation sampling, including imaging guidance).CCI released version 17.1 last month, revealing 11,831 new edit pairs and 346 terminations, said Frank D. Cohen, MPA, MBB, senior analyst with MIT Solutions, Inc., in a March statement. That's a large number of new edit pairs for the second quarter, which typically slackens after adding many new-code pairs in the first quarter."There are several bundled edits found in the recent Correct Coding Initiative, version 17.1 for urological services," says Michael A. Ferragamo, MD, FACS, clinical assistant professor of urology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Save time and the headache of [...]