Wiki Screening Dx & Pathology coding

[karacombs]

If a patient comes in for a screening colonoscopy and path shows a polyp, would it be appropriate to code V76.51 as the primary dx on the pathology (technical component) claim with the 211.3 as the secondary dx? This is how we code our procedure & ASC claims so it would stand to reason it would be OK to do the same for the path claim.

 

[bridgettemartin]

It may depend on the carrier. We code V76.51 first on our commercial path claims. We have found that in doing so, the patient's screening benefit carries over to the pathology charges.