Gastroenterology Coding Alert

Question: If a patient comes in for a screening and during the procedure our gastroenterologist found polyps that were removed, the procedure becomes diagnostic. Even though the procedure became diagnostic, V76.51 continues to be the primary diagnosis code and other findings that led to the removal procedure will become the secondary diagnosis. If such a patient returns at a later point in time, I used to use V12.72 as the primary diagnosis and other findings, if any, as the secondary diagnosis. But insurance companies are rejecting my claims, saying that I should continue to use V76.51 as the primary code. I think that since we have already had a prior screening, using V76.51 is not correct.San Francisco SubscriberAnswer: Screening colonoscopies will be performed on asymptomatic patients when they have attained the age for screening as a routine purpose. So you are right with using V76.51 (Special screening for malignant neoplasm, [...]