Wiki 45382

[Gastro1]

Good afternoon
I have a question, can/should 45382 be billed along with 45385 or 45384 when the doctor places clips for bleeding? The CPT says cant be billed with 45378 but nothing about 45384 or 45385, however I read a few articles that is incidental. We billed it in the past and received payment.

Please advise

Thank you

 

[thomas7331]

45382 is incidental to 45384/45385 if performed at the same site as the polyps and/or to control bleeding that occurred as a result of the removals. Per CPT, if "bleeding occurs as a result of an endoscopic procedure, control of bleeding is not reported separately during the same operative session." So it would not be appropriate to report 45382 or to unbundle it with a modifier if the clips were placed as a result of the bleeding that occurred during the removal of the polyps performed during that endoscopy. However, if there was bleeding identified and controlled by clips during the endoscopy that was at a separate site and not a result of the procedure or of the polyp removal, then it would be appropriate to report the code and a modifier.