Anesthesia Coding Alert

Tip: Watch for patient-specific details to support unusual circumstances.If your anesthesiologist provides service above and beyond the norm for a case, you might be able to append modifier 23 (Unusual anesthesia) to the procedure code. Reporting modifier 23 doesn't affect your reimbursement, but payers do have rules regarding modifier 23's use. Follow these four steps to ensure your claim meets certain criteria and won't kick back as an automatic denial. 1. Dissect the Descriptor The abbreviated descriptor of modifier 23 in CPT®'s front cover is basic enough: It's just "Unusual anesthesia." But a closer look at its full description in Appendix A, however, gives more details you should consider: "Occasionally, a procedure, which usually requires either no anesthesia or local anesthesia, because of unusual circumstances must be done under general anesthesia. This circumstance may be reported by adding the modifier -23 to the procedure code of the basic service."What this [...]