Cardiology Coding Alert

Question: May we report 93270 even when the only transmission was the test transmission?Illinois SubscriberAnswer: You should be able to report 93270 (Wearable patient activated electrocardiographic rhythm derived event recording with presymptom memory loop, 24-hour attended monitoring, per 30-day period of time; recording [includes connection, recording, and disconnection]) in the situation you describe, assuming you meet certain conditions.According to CPT Assistant (August 2010), you should check for the following before reporting 93270:The patient received the monitor from the office or facility, or via mail, such as from a monitoring center. The physician or facility instructed the patient on proper monitor use (including hookup, recording, and transmission).The patient sent at least one transmission. Reason: Patients must send a test transmission when the monitoring period begins to be sure the device is working.Lesson learned: When the patient (1) receives both the device and instructions in the mail AND (2) the physician or [...]