Gastroenterology Coding Alert

Lab cert adds several screenings to your possible procedure list. Without Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA)-waived status, your practice is forbidden from performing lab tests that could net some more patients and reimbursement for the gastroenterologist. CLIA-waived means that the gastroenterologist is certified to conduct simple lab services in-house, says Sean M. Weiss, CPC, CPC-P, CMPE, CCA-P, CCP-P, senior partner at The CMC Group LLC in Atlanta. "If a provider's office does not have a CLIA certification or other lab certification, they are not able to provide the [waived] service or bill for it," he says. Fallout: If someone needs a CLIA-waived test, offices that don't have the waiver cannot provide the service. Screening EGD Could Add $320 The CLIA waiver can be a benefit to most gastroenterology offices -- but especially those that wish to perform H. pylori breath tests for their patients. Example: The physician performs an upper gastrointestinal [...]