Urology Coding Alert

Hint: You won't always be able to report the procedures in the same order.When your urologist fragments more than one stone located in two different locations within the urinary tract during one operative session, the proper coding might leave you scratching your head: Can you ever report both procedures? If you can, how do you sequence the codes? Tackle these tough questions by reviewing a sample scenario and learning the truth behind two common stone procedure myths.Scenario: Your urologist performs a ureteroscopic laser lithotripsy of a left ureteral stone and lithotripsy of a bladder stone. How should you code these procedure performed during one operative session?Separately Report Procedures Based on AnatomyMyth: You can never separately report multiple stone fragmentations your urologist performs during the same operative session.Reality: Depending on where the stones are in the urinary tract, you may be able to separately report and be paid for multiple fragmentation [...]