tci Part B Insider - 2008 Issue 21

READER QUESTION: Zoom In on 'Targets' Before Coding Moderate Sedation With Procedure

Hint: You can't always bill moderate sedation separatelyQuestion: An established patient complaining of rectal pain and abdominal cramps reports to our surgeon. During a level-four E/M service, the surgeon discovers a foreign body (FB) in the colon. The surgeon then removes the FB via flexible sigmoidoscopy. Due to the patient's anxiety and pain, the surgeon provides 26 minutes of moderate sedation during the procedure. Can we report the sedation separately? Answer: You cannot report moderate sedation separately in this case. CPT bundles moderate sedation into all of the sigmoidoscopy codes, so your claim cannot include 99144 (Moderate sedation services...

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