ED Coding and Reimbursement Alert

Question: The  physician administered topical anesthesia and removed a foreign body with a laryngoscope blade and Magill forceps, which a colleague told me to bill with 31575 (Laryngoscopy, flexible fiberoptic; diagnostic). My concern is that this code usually pertains to a bronchoscope. Should I report 31575 anyway, even though the apparatuses were different from what the code stipulates?


Tennessee Subscriber


Answer: Code 31575 does describe a laryngoscopy procedure--but one using a flexible fiberoptic laryngoscope. In the case you describe, the physician used a traditional metal (that is, inflexible) laryngoscope, so the 31575-31578 range does not apply.

This is a tough situation, but your best bet is to report the foreign-body removal with 31530 (Laryngoscopy, direct, operative, with foreign-body removal). However, keep in mind that although 31530 reflects the equipment the physician used, the code descriptor also contains the term -operative.- 

Although 31530 is the best code to describe the service, you may want to ask your carrier if they will recognize 31530 when the physician performs it in the ED.