Question: What code should I report when the urologist administers a “Whitmore cocktail”?
Virginia Subscriber
Answer: You should report 51700 (Bladder irrigation, simple, lavage and/or instillation) for a Whitmore cocktail administration. This bladder instillation consists of several non-chemotherapeutic drugs to locally treat patients with interstitial cystitis.
Note: Chemotherapeutic agent instillations, such as Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) and Mutamycin, would mandate code 51720 (Bladder instillation of anticarcinogenic agent [including retention time]).