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Inpatient Facility Coding & Compliance Alert

Procedures:

Coding for Closed Lung Biopsy? Start by Focusing on the Site

Published on Fri Aug 24, 2012

Recent RAC audits showed that coding for closed biopsy of the lung is a hot button for many hospitals. Follow these 3 tips to be sure you're choosing the correct code every time.

Tip 1: Understand the differences. You have two diagnosis options when reporting closed biopsy of the lung: 33.24 – Closed (endoscopic) biopsy of bronchus 33.27 – Closed endoscopic biopsy of lung.

Key: You must know the anatomic site of the biopsy. If the physician doesn't clearly document whether he biopsied the bronchus or another area of the lung, you'll have to query for more information before moving further.
Tip 2: Confirm the type of biopsy. All biopsies are not the same, even when they're performed in the same anatomic site. For example, documentation stating "biopsy of right lower lobe" doesn't automatically mean the surgeon completed a transbronchial lung biopsy. [...]
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