RE: [Histonet] CPT coding
They are two distinct specimens, if you diagnose the two separately you may bill for two separate specimens even though they were in one container. Jan M Omaha, NE Sponsored by Catholic Health Initiatives and Immanuel Health Systems, Alegent Health is faithful to the healing ministry of Jesus Christ, providing high quality care for the body, mind and spirit of every person. The information contained in this communication, including attachments, is confidential and private and intended only for the use of the addressees. Unauthorized use, disclosure, distribution or copying is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you received this communication in error, please inform us of the erroneous delivery by return e-mail message from your computer. Additionally, although all attachments have been scanned at the source for viruses, the recipient should check any attachments for the presence of viruses before opening. Alegent Health accepts no liability for any damage caused by any virus transmitted by this e-mail. Thank you for your cooperation. ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
RE: [Histonet] CPT coding
We do a surgical examination on the placenta and the fetus when they are in the same container. We charge 88307 for the placenta and 88309 for the fetus. Thanks, Wanda WANDA G. SMITH, HTL(ASCP)HT Pathology Supervisor TRIDENT MEDICAL CENTER 9330 Medical Plaza Drive Charleston, SC 29406 843-847-4586 843-847-4296 fax This email and any files transmitted with it may contain PRIVILEGED or CONFIDENTIAL information and may be read or used only by the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient of the email or any of its attachments, please be advised that you have received this email in error and that any use, dissemination, distribution, forwarding, printing, or copying of this email or any attached files is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please immediately purge it and all attachments and notify the sender by reply email or contact the sender at the number listed. -Original Message- From: histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu [mailto:histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of histot...@imagesbyhopper.com Sent: Thursday, April 08, 2010 9:32 PM To: histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu Subject: [Histonet] CPT coding Hi Histonetters! We have run into a question about CPT charges and I was hoping to get a more definitive answer than what we currently have. I know if you have two tonsils in one container, one with a stitch and one without, you can charge for both tonsils. How about if you have one container with a placenta and a stillborn fetus? One suggestion is to charge an 88307 and the other is to charge 88300 AND an 88307 (to cover the gross only on the fetus and the tissue that was submitted for the placenta). What is the standard, shall I say legal?, way of charging for these specimens? Must you choose one of the charges or are we allowed to use both charges? Thanks for any light you can shed on this! Michelle ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
RE: [Histonet] CPT coding clarification
Only if the sites can be separately identified. But the technical and professional must equal, so if they can be separately identified, then there would be four 88305s. -Original Message- From: histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu [mailto:histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of Richard Cartun Sent: Thursday, October 15, 2009 16:48 To: Histonet Subject: [Histonet] CPT coding clarification If a clinician puts four GI biopsies (from different sites) into one formalin container, resulting in one paraffin block, I know that there can only be one 88305-TC charge. However, can the pathologist bill 88305-26x4 for each individual tissue specimen? Thanks. Richard Richard W. Cartun, Ph.D. Director, Histology Immunopathology Director, Biospecimen Collection Programs Assistant Director, Anatomic Pathology Hartford Hospital 80 Seymour Street Hartford, CT 06102 (860) 545-1596 (860) 545-0174 Fax ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet Confidentiality Notice: This email, including any attachments is the property of Catholic Health East and is intended for the sole use of the intended recipient(s). It may contain information that is privileged and confidential. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure, or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please reply to the sender that you have received the message in error, then delete this message. ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
RE: [Histonet] CPT Coding question 88342 PIN 4 cocktail
Disclaimer: I do not consider myself to be a coding expert. Take my opinions with a grain of salt. I've never seen coding for softening of keratin therefore I don't see how you could charge for it. This is not decalcification and should not be represented as such. Until such time as a code appears (don't hold your breath) the KOH or whatever technique you employ is for your convenience to make a block more cuttable (is that a word?). There is no rule that technical and professional charges must be the same. They are reimbursed differently, sometimes the technical having a higher reimbursement than the professional. You are free to set your charges for each where you see fit. I believe that your charges for prostate IHC have to be justified by the pathology. In your example, some of those cores may be clearly benign and there would be no basis for charging IHC for eight cores if only one or two contain the lesion. In your case, by having four cores in one block, you benefit by keeping your expenses down however I do believe that your IHC charges should (must?) be based on the location of the lesion under study. It would seem to me that charging for IHC on eight cores when the report describes a lesion in only one is asking for trouble You are correct that you can charge 88342 x 3 for the PIN 4 markers as each is separate and can be visualized distinctly from one another. Vinnie Della Speranza Manager for Anatomic Pathology Services Medical University of South Carolina 165 Ashley Avenue Suite 309 Charleston, South Carolina 29425 Tel: (843) 792-6353 Fax: (843) 792-8974 -Original Message- From: histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu [mailto:histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of Shea's Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2009 9:09 PM To: histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu Subject: [Histonet] CPT Coding question 88342 PIN 4 cocktail We started staining prostate needle bxs w/ PIN 4 (triple stain). 1. My understanding is that we can bill for 88342 x 3 (per specimen) if a comment is made on the results of the nuclear staining and cytoplasmic staining of the DAB and the staining of the Vulcan red. The key is documentation in the report. This is simple to understand when you rec'd 1 specimen/container, but we rec'd: A. Right prostate Bx - Red stained bx: apex Green stained bx: base Blue stained bx: midgland Yellow stained bx: transition submitted in one Cassette A. B. Left prostate Bx - Red stained bx: apex Green stained bx: base Blue stained bx: midgland Yellow stained bx: transition submitted in one Cassette B. 2. If the pathologist needed this stain on every specimen, it would be 8 separate identifiable specimens x 3 (separate identifiable stains in the cocktail) , therefore88342 x 24, even though it is only 2 blocks. 3. If the pathologist was only interested in this stain on on the Apex in A and B it would be 2 specimens x 3, therefore 88342 x 6 for the same 2 blocks (even though it stains all 8 specimens, only 2 of the 8 are in need of this stain). Another words, we can't charge the technical component until we find out how many specimens the pathologist is looking at in a slide (professional component), even though it is the same amount of work and reagents. Does this sound right? 4. Is the technical charge always the same as the professional charge? Another unrelated question - We can bill for decalcification, but is there a billing code for KOH in the same manner to soften and treat toenails before processing? It is documented in the Path report. I know this has been discussed in the archives, but there seems to be conflicting opinions. Do we know for sure? Thanks ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
