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Neurosurgery Coding Alert

READER QUESTIONS:

Report a Single Fluoroscopy Code

Published on Sat Jan 01, 2005

Question: During a major spine surgery, the neurosurgeon used fluoroscopy for four hours. Should I report this as 76000 x 4 units or do I bill 76001 just once?


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Answer: You should report a single unit of 76001 (Fluoroscopy, physician time more than one hour, assisting a non-radiologic physician [e.g., nephrosto-lithotomy, ERCP, bronchoscopy, transbronchial biopsy]).

The descriptor for 76001 specifically states "physician time more than one hour" but does not specify a "maximum" number of hours. Therefore, if the physician spends 90 minutes or eight hours, the coding is the same.

Likewise, you should never report multiple units of 76000 (Fluoroscopy [separate procedure], up to one hour physician time, other than 71023 or 71034 [e.g., cardiac fluoroscopy]). Rather, report a single unit of 76000 if the physician provides fluoroscopy for 60 or fewer minutes.
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