Stop hypothermia coding errors cold
Published on Sun Sep 27, 2009
3 criteria signal +99116 is OK. Before you can capture qualifying circumstances pay for hypothermia, pay attention to certain documentation details and requirements. Checking the details in your provider's notes and paying close attention to the applicable anesthesia code can help you ward off any fears of incorrect reporting. To find the code for hypothermia, you'll need to flip to the back of your CPT book to "Qualifying Circumstances for Anesthesia." The code you'll focus on is +99116 (Anesthesia complicated by utilization of total body hypothermia [List separately in addition to code for primary anesthesia procedure]). 1. Ensure Hypothermia Is Induced Dissecting the hypothermia code descriptor tells you two important things about correctly reporting +99116: • The term "utilization" lets you know that the patient's hypothermic state was induced (that is, on purpose), not incidental. • Because it's an add-on code (designated by the "+" sign), you know you can [...]
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