tci General Surgery Coding Alert - 2003 Issue 1

Get Paid for Co-Surgery With Instrumentation Procedures

For 2003, CPT revises the instructional text accompanying codes in its "Spine (Vertebral Column)" section (22100-22855) to reflect new surgery guidelines. Specifically, previous versions of CPT have instructed, "Do not append modifier -62 [Two surgeons] to spinal instrumentation codes 22840-22855." For 2003, these instructions have changed, stating, "Do not append modifier -62 to spinal instrumentation codes 22840-22848 and 22850-22852." Interpreted strictly, this means that two surgeons (for instance, an orthopedic surgeon or neurosurgeon and a general surgeon) may work (and bill) as co-surgeons during reinsertion of spinal fixation device (22849) or removal of anterior instrumentation (22855), as...

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