Reader Question:
Skip 57160 Without Fitting
Published on Tue Mar 13, 2012
Question: We are a
urology office, and the doctor had a patient the other day with a vaginal prolapse, and he saw her as a new patient. He inserted a pessary for her. Is there a code for pessary placement? The local gynecologist states she simply bills for a follow up visit, not the pessary placement. My doctor did not fit the patient for the pessary. The patient brought it in with her, and he simply re-inserted it. How should I bill this service?West Virginia SubscriberAnswer: The local gynecologist is correctly coding for when she re-inserts a pessary. If the patient returns for the cleaning and reinsertion of the pessary, you should report the E/M code, depending on the examination and medical decision-making your physician documents in the chart. You would not include 57160 (Fitting and insertion of pessary or other intravaginal support device) on your claim. The [...]