Shay0287
New
Hello, one of my providers is trying to bill for an Office Visit, EKG, and Pacemaker Check on the same date of service. There is a CCI edit for the Pacemaker check and EKG and was told by another Cardiology Coder at an AAPC conference to just put a modifier 59 on the EKG. I even mentioned that if a CCI edit exists that maybe both shouldn't be billed on the same DOS unless the documentation shows the medical necessity for the EKG but the Coder stated that the medical necessity should be the same for why the patient has a pacemaker. Since most of these patients are Medicare, I feel uncomfortable just adding modifier 59 to bypass the CCI edit and receive reimbursement as the overutilization of the modifier 59 will put my organization at risk for audits. Are other cardiologist receiving payment without an issue for both device check and EKG on the same DOS? Are there any recommendations on the documentation that will support the reporting of modifier 59?