fortned
Guest
Could someone tell me if you have pediatric patients that are having hernia repairs but the doctor does a diagnostic lap prior do you bill for that? Below is what I have been explained.
We have historically coded the 49320 when they check for hernia on the other side. If this gets repaired, we do not bill the 49320. If the side is fine and no hernia then we billed the 49320 and the repair for the other side (known hernia). Forty percent of patients with a one sided hernia on exam will have a hernia that is not always detected on exam. The lap exam during surgery detects these and they can be corrected under the same anesthesia, thus saving the child from having to have a second anesthesia later. This was how it was explained to me when I started coding urology.
I would appreciate any feedback on this issue.
We have historically coded the 49320 when they check for hernia on the other side. If this gets repaired, we do not bill the 49320. If the side is fine and no hernia then we billed the 49320 and the repair for the other side (known hernia). Forty percent of patients with a one sided hernia on exam will have a hernia that is not always detected on exam. The lap exam during surgery detects these and they can be corrected under the same anesthesia, thus saving the child from having to have a second anesthesia later. This was how it was explained to me when I started coding urology.
I would appreciate any feedback on this issue.