tci General Surgery Coding Alert - 2005 Issue 9

Use Caution for Same-Day FNA and PNB

Turn to modifier 59 for aspiration and biopsy at separate locationsIf the patient undergoes a more extensive diagnostic surgical procedure at the same site on the same date of service, Medicare may not pay for an initial fine needle aspiration (FNA). The National Correct Coding Initiative (NCCI) edits bundle FNA with many biopsy procedures under the policy of "sequential procedures." This policy states that when the physician performs a second procedure because the initial procedure did not successfully accomplish a medically necessary service, you should only report the more invasive service.Example: The physician performs a breast lesion...

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.