Anesthesia Coding Alert

Question: Our physician provided anesthesia while an 11-month-old patient underwent an auditory test. The surgeon's codes don't cross to an anesthesia code. How should I report the case?


Colorado Subscriber


Answer: Many surgical procedures don't crosswalk to anesthesia codes, which means you need to understand the procedure well enough to report the closest anesthesia code. These include 92585 (Auditory evoked potentials for evoked response audiometry and/or testing of the central nervous system; comprehensive) and 92588 (Evoked otoacoustic emissions; comprehensive or diagnostic evaluation [comparison of transient and/or distortion product otoacoustic emissions at multiple levels and frequencies]).

Your best option in this case is 00120 (Anesthesia for procedures on external, middle and inner ear including biopsy; not otherwise specified). Also append modifier 23 (Unusual anesthesia) to indicate the patient does not normally need anesthesia for this procedure, and include documentation supporting its necessity.