tci General Surgery Coding Alert - 2009 Issue 10

Reader Questions:Base Bilateral Coding on Payer Preference

Question: What is the correct way to code the treatment of multiple varicose veins by endovenous ablation therapy when the patient has bilateral venous incompetence in the greater saphenous veins as well as incompetent perforators bilateral and deep system incompetence? Our office codes as follows: 36475-LT, 36476-LT, 36475-RT,36476-RT using one unit on each code listed. Is this correct coding? Minnesota Subscriber Answer:. Essentially you have the right codes but you may be missing some revenue. You may also be better off using modifier 50 (Bilateral procedure) rather than LT (Left side) and RT (Right side) in some cases...

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:
  • tci General Surgery Coding Alert +Archives

demo
request yours today
 subscribe
start today
 newsletter
free subscription

Thank you for choosing Find-A-Code, please Sign In to remove ads.