Wiki Coding for tb tests admin and reads

[chewysgirl]

Hi guys!

My company seems to have differing opinions on when and how to code for a tb test. We agree you use code 86580 but some of us think you should bill it out when the pts comes back for the reading and some think it is appropriate to bill it at the admission. Also, in researching on the internet I have seen that some say you can bill the 86580 at the admission of the test and bill a 99211 for the reading and others say the reading is included in 86580. Does anyone have a definitive answer on this?

Thanks!
Linda T.

 

[coding4fun]

TB testing

We bill the TB test out when it is administered. When the pt returns to the office to have the TB read, verified & documented, we bill the 99211 (nurse visit) out for the reading.

 

[csperoni]

When I worked in primary care, we billed the TB test the day it was administered. The logic being even if the patient doesn't return, or has it read elsewhere, you still did the work of placing the TB test. For the reading, if the nurse took vitals and noted constitutional, we billed 99211. Some nurses would just look at the pts arm & write "0mm read L forearm" and that we did not bill anything for.