January 2004 page 26b
Coding Consultation:Questions and Answers
Pathology and Laboratory, 85007, 85009, 85004, 85008 (Q&A)
Question
Working in a hospital laboratory
that sees a high number of oncology patients,
we often must perform manual leukocyte differentials
or buffy coat differentials depending
on the results of the other parameters of
the CBC. How should I code for those
cases when I only perform the automated
leukocyte differential?
AMA Comment
CPT 2003 recognizes that
some laboratories commonly must perform
manual and buffy coat leukocyte differentials
depending on the results of the other CBC
parameters. For this reason, code 85027...
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