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Anesthesia Coding Alert

Reader Questions:

CRNAs Use the Same Codes

Published on Sun Sep 12, 2004

Question: Should we report the same codes for a CRNA employed by the hospital that we would for an anesthesiologist's work?

Missouri Subscriber Answer: Yes, you report the same CPT/ASA codes for a CRNA that you would for an anesthesiologist. The only difference lies with carriers using the HCPCS modifiers. You'll still append modifier -QS (Monitored anesthesia care service) for MAC cases, but you'll report modifier    -QZ (CRNA service: without medical direction by a physician) or modifier -QX (CRNA service: with medical direction by a physician), depending on the situation.
 
If this is a hospital claim, remember to report the CRNA's service on a CMS-1500 form (not the UB92) because it is a medical service.
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