Anesthesia Coding Alert

Question: A pain management physician was performing a celiac plexus injection procedure but stopped halfway through due to an acute change in the patient's condition. Can I report the injection since it was not completed? Texas Subscriber Answer: You would report 64530 (Injection, anesthetic agent: celiac plexus...) with modifier 53 (Discontinued procedure) appended. You use modifier 53 when a physician stops a procedure "due to extenuating circumstances or those that threaten the well-being of the patient," according to CPT. Modifier 53 describes an unexpected problem, beyond the physician's or patient's control, that necessitates ending the procedure. The physician doesn't elect to discontinue the procedure so much as he is forced to do so because of the circumstances. You might see the following scenarios as a cause to use modifier 53: 1. The patient develops a contraindication and the procedure must be discontinued for patient health reasons 2. The physician (provider) [...]