Not billable by physician in faclity setting
Actulally the guideline in CPT states: These codes are not intended to be reported by the physician in the facility setting. (2009 CPT Professional edition, page 435, last sentence in left hand column).
If your practice is stand alone, it should still be reportable per CPT. If your practice is a hospital-based practice (as is our - all our "offices" are in hospital owned & operated clinic buildings), then you are in a facility setting, and therefore not able to use these codes.
The reason physicians don't report the code in the facility setting is that the facility and not the physician actually purchases the supplies and usually hires the nursing staff who perform the procedure.
If you are not in a hospital-based facility, then you should contact BCBS for clarification ... do they prefer to pay you for handling these cases in the office, or do they prefer that you send patients to the ER for this medically necessary treatment?
F Tessa Bartels, CPC, CEMC