READER QUESTIONS:
Retained Products Means Patient Is Still Pregnant
Published on Fri Jul 17, 2009
Question: My ob-gyn performed an ultrasound for retained products, and my co-worker said I should report this as an ob ultrasound. Is this right? The patient is no longer pregnant. South Carolina Subscriber Answer: You should consider the patient pregnant until she expels all products of conception. Your ob-gyn is performing the ultrasound because of suspected retained products -- hence, this is an ob ultrasound. Also, you have to be able to match the diagnosis with the ultrasound type. The October 2001 CPT Assistant states: For female patients with an established diagnosis of pregnancy, determined by any method, and/or with indications for the ultrasound procedure that might be pregnancy related, it is appropriate to report an obstetrical ultrasound code from the 76805-76815 series. A missed AB means the fetus died and is still in the uterus, not that she is no longer pregnant. In other words, the term pregnancy applies to [...]
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