dlashua
Networker
Hello,
I have a provider querying as to how follow up paps due to abnormal findings should be coded since the guidelines have changed. We used to follow up with the patient every 3-6 months and bill out as an e/m, but the new guidelines are stating follow up 1 year for most of the abnormal results. Of course the patients age and the diagnosis have to be considered when making the determination of when to see the patient again. There is an algorithm at www.asccp.org - if we bill the follow up as an e/m in 1 year, the provider is concerned that the annual exam won't be covered as a screening will not be done. I have tried to explain that annual exams are age appropriate and that a pap does not necessarily have to be part of the service that is provided. We can do the pap at the same time and bill it as an e/m w/mod 25 and then the 993xx. Has anyone heard anything different since the new guidelines came out?
Thank you,
Dorothea M. Lashua, CPC
I have a provider querying as to how follow up paps due to abnormal findings should be coded since the guidelines have changed. We used to follow up with the patient every 3-6 months and bill out as an e/m, but the new guidelines are stating follow up 1 year for most of the abnormal results. Of course the patients age and the diagnosis have to be considered when making the determination of when to see the patient again. There is an algorithm at www.asccp.org - if we bill the follow up as an e/m in 1 year, the provider is concerned that the annual exam won't be covered as a screening will not be done. I have tried to explain that annual exams are age appropriate and that a pap does not necessarily have to be part of the service that is provided. We can do the pap at the same time and bill it as an e/m w/mod 25 and then the 993xx. Has anyone heard anything different since the new guidelines came out?
Thank you,
Dorothea M. Lashua, CPC