Cardiology Coding Alert

Question: After she prepped and anesthetized the patient, my cardiologist laid the patient in the supine position and attached cardioversion pads onto his chest and back. My cardiologist documented the patient’s baseline cardiac output rates. My cardiologist then connected the cardioversion pads to an external defibrillator to deliver an electric shock that brought the patient’s heart rate and rhythm back to normal. My cardiologist performed this planned procedure to treat the patient’s paroxysmal ventricular tachycardia. Which CPT^® and ICD-10-CM codes should I report on my claim?

Ohio Subscriber

Answer: You should report 92960 (Cardioversion, elective, electrical conversion of arrhythmia; external) as the CPT^® code on your claim. Since your cardiologist performed the cardioversion to treat the patient’s paroxysmal ventricular tachycardia, you should report I47.2 (Ventricular tachycardia) as the ICD-10-CM code on your claim.

Don’t miss: This is an example of cardioversion, which is the conversion of one cardiac rhythm to another or electrical pattern, usually an abnormal one to normal.