tci Outpatient Facility Coding Alert - 2013 Issue 9

Surgical Assists: Follow 4 Steps for Success When PAs Assist at Surgery

Differentiate modifiers AS and 80 for billing success. When PAs serve as first assistants during difficult surgeries, coding the assist shouldn’t be as tough as coding the procedure itself. The following four expert-tested steps can help you nail down your PA’s reimbursement every time he assists a surgeon. Step 1: Check the Fee Schedule Each year, as part of the Physician Fee Schedule, Medicare publishes those procedures for which it approves technical surgical assisting (TSA) by a physician, physician assistant (PA), nurse practitioner, or clinical nurse specialist. If the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule lists a “1&rdquo...

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