Wiki Quantitative Drug Test Coding!! Help

[cvpeachy@yahoo.com]

Re: Codes 82102 and 82542. Could someone please clarify for me the uses for these two codes. Is 80102 used for every drug confirmation that is sent to the lab regardless if the drug has it's own specific CPT code? Is 82542 used only when there is no specific confirmation code listed for the particular drug that is being confirmed? Do you use these two codes together? We are billing for high complexity confirmation testing on LC/MS/MS...Also is anyone aware of any good billing resources out there specific to confirmation drug testing?? Many Thanks!!

 

[vazq123]

If your facility is performing quantitative testing by LC/MS then the specific CPT codes for quantitative testing should be used.

If there is not CPT code available for a specific drug being tested then the unspecified code that describes the methodology should be used. If 82542 describes the method and there is no other code then that may be the one you will have to use. Otherwise the only other code available is 80299; quantitation of drug, not elsewhere specified. Unfortunately with this code, just like any other unspecified code ending in 99, the descriptor will need to be on the line for any government payers and expect medical record requests from the carriers for this code.

80102 should be used when secondary confirmation is performed without quantitation.

 

[Brendacole]

what if an initial screen was don by a point of care cup then they do a confirmation by HPLC-MS/MS what CPT code would be used?