Register now for this free live demo Thursday, March 20 @ 1:00pm Eastern. See how Find-A-Code's workflow matches yours, putting the most important information right at your fingertips in an easy-to-use format.
Why Find-A-Code?
Complete Code Sets: CPT®, ICD-10-CM, HCPCS and more
The Easiest, Fastest, and Most Accurate NCCI Validation
Complete NCD/LCD Policies
All The Features You Need
AHA Coding Clinic® integration
RVUs with facility factors
UCR fees by location
Commercial payer policies
Common Language Descriptions (CLDs)
Many, many more!
tci General Surgery Coding Alert - 2009 Issue 4
Reader Questions: Offer Additional Info for Lap to Open Conversions
Question: What is the correct code for an exploratory laparoscopy converted to an open cholecystectomy? The only code I can think of is 47480 but I don't think that is the correct code to use.
Maryland Subscriber
Answer:You should report 47600 (Cholecyst-ectomy) for this procedure. Code 47480 (Cholecystotomy or cholecystostomy with exploration, drainage, or removal of calculus [separate procedure]) is for cholecystostomy, but in this case you indicate that the surgeon removed the gallbladder, so 47600 would be the appropriate code.
If during a laparoscopic procedure, the surgeon converts to an open surgery, you should only report the open...
To read the full article, sign in and subscribe to tci General Surgery Coding Alert.
Leverage vital, to-the-point monthly guidance to boost your reporting accuracy and your coding know-how. We make it convenient for your team to stay informed, compliant, and profitable with a subscription to TCI’s General Surgery Coding Alert.
Current newsletters added each month
Fully searchable archives - over 2100 articles
ALL years/issues back to 1999 organized by year and issue
Codes mentioned in articles are linked to Code Information pages
Code Information pages link back to related articles
Access to this feature is available in the following products:
Quick, Current, Complete - www.findacode.com