Append modifier 50 to a diagnostic, radiology, or surgical procedure code when the provider performs it on both sides of the body during the same operative session.
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Question: An ophthalmologist performed a bilateral Humphrey visual field test with the 30-2 pattern. They also performed bilateral optical coherence tomography (OCT) to examine the patient’s optic nerves at the back of the eyes. Can I report these procedures together? [...]
Question: My coworker told me that when reporting H61.21 or H61.22, I still must append a laterality modifier, even though laterality is already built into the code. Is that correct? AAPC Forum Participant Answer: Your coworker may be correct, but this will [...]
Code choice will vary depending on spinal area. Epidural steroid injections (ESIs) are commonly used to relieve pain and inflammation associated with spinal conditions. These injections are simple procedures that are usually done in pain management (PM) offices. One size [...]
There’s more to the condition than coding J02.-. Pharyngitis coding seems basic on the surface. When a patient sees your otolaryngologist for a sore throat, you turn to J02.- (Acute pharyngitis) and select the appropriate code from the four subcategories [...]
Question: Physicians in our practice refer several patients for colorectal cancer screenings, but only about two-thirds of the patients are following through and getting the procedures done. Are there colon cancer screening tests that have a high adherence rate available? [...]
Question: The urologist performed a procedure with operative notes as follows: Following the administration of general anesthesia, the patient was positioned in lithotomy. Sterile preparation and draping were performed on his penis, perineum, and lower abdomen. An incision was made at [...]
Question: My urologist says he put in ureteral stents for another physician during a diverticulitis surgery. The physician stated these were French whistle tip stents. Am I correct in my understanding that these are not indwelling ureteral stents and should be [...]
Question: We recently had a patient come in for a bilateral mastectomy. The left breast had cancer, and surgeons performed a prophylactic removal on the right breast. The CPTÒ code we used was 19303 with diagnosis codes C50.912 and Z40.01. [...]
Question: Can an AA (anesthesia assistant) bill with a QZ modifier? Does this mean all AAs have to be supervised? Also, we are going to change our split billing from 50-50 to 60-40. Medicare does not require that you bill [...]
Question: I have an operative note detailing an ophthalmologist’s strabismus surgical procedure on both eyes of a patient. The note indicates the surgeon resected the lateral rectus muscle of the left eye and resected the medial rectus muscle of the [...]
