General Surgery Coding Alert

If you want to decrease your chances of losing deserved reimbursement for arterial catheter placements, follow these four expert-approved steps:

1. Code based on what the surgeon documents in writing, not based on what the surgeon says he did or what you think he did.

2. Code the highest-order catheter placement the surgeon achieved within each vascular family.

3. Do not code lower-order catheter placements that are "on the way to" the higher-order position.

4. Report any additional second-order or higher catheter placements within the same vascular family using the "add-on" codes +36218 (Selective catheter placement, arterial system; additional second-order, third-order, and beyond, thoracic or brachiocephalic branch, within a vascular family [list in addition to code for initial second- or third-order vessel as appropriate]) and +36248 (... additional second-order, third-order, and beyond, abdominal, pelvic, or lower-extremity artery branch, within a vascular family [list in addition to code for initial second- or third-order vessel as appropriate]).