Urology Coding Alert

Question: We sometimes have patients come into our office for a voiding trial when they already have an indwelling urinary catheter in place. The nurse does a fill and then removes the catheter. Then we have the patient void. Can we bill 51700 for this even though the catheter was already in place?

New Mexico Subscriber

Answer: Yes, you can report 51700 (Bladder irrigation, simple, lavage and/or instillation) for a voiding trial under these circumstances. The definition for code 51700 does not mention catheter insertion. CPT^® also instructs you to not report 51701-51702 when catheter insertion is an inclusive component of another procedure. Therefore, one is able to bill for the bladder filling whether a catheter was inserted at the time of the filling or via a previously placed catheter. No modifiers are necessary.