Oncology & Hematology Coding Alert

Also: Venipuncture and intracatheter introduction become part of more than 75 codes introduced in CPT 2008 If you suspected that the new brachytherapy needle placement codes that CPT 2008 introduced would be subject to the same Correct Coding Initiative (CCI) edits as the prostate and breast needle placement codes, give yourself a gold star. The latest version of CCI spares almost no specialty, with more than 8,000 new edits that will affect claims in 2008. However, many of these edits are marked with a modifier status indicator of "1," which means you can override them with a modifier when appropriate, says Maggie M. Mac, CMM, CPC, CMSCS, CCP, ICCE, consulting manager for Pershing, Yoakley and Associates in Clearwater, Fla. Include Injections, Infusions in Needle Placement CCI version 14.0, effective Jan. 1, 2008, clarifies how coders should report the following three new needle and catheter placement codes: - 20555 -- Placement of needles or catheter into muscle and/or soft tissue for subsequent interstitial radioelement application (at the time of or subsequent to the procedure) - 41019 -- Placement of needles, catheters or other device(s) into the head and/or neck region (percutaneous, transoral or transnasal) for subsequent interstitial radioelement application - 55920 -- Placement of needles or catheters into pelvic organs and/or genitalia (except prostate) for subsequent interstitial radioelement application. If you-re reporting one of those codes, the new coding edits warn you against reporting any of these codes in addition: - 36000 -- Introduction of needle or intracatheter, vein - 36410 -- Venipuncture, age 3 years or older, necessitating physician's skill (separate procedure), for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes (not to be used for routine venipuncture) - 37202 -- Transcatheter therapy, infusion other than for thrombolysis, any type (e.g., spasmolytic, vasoconstrictive) - 62318-62319 -- Injection, including catheter placement, continuous infusion or intermittent bolus, not including neurolytic substances, with or without contrast (for either localization or epidurography), of diagnostic or therapeutic substance(s) (including anesthetic, antispasmodic, opioid, steroid, other solution), epidural or subarachnoid ... - 64415-64417 -- Injection, anesthetic agent ... - 64450 -- Injection, anesthetic agent; other peripheral nerve or branch - 64470-64475 -- Injection, anesthetic agent and/or steroid, paravertebral facet joint or facet joint nerve ... - +69990 -- Microsurgical techniques, requiring use of operating microscope (list separately in addition to code for primary procedure) - 90760 -- Intravenous infusion, hydration; initial, 31 minutes to one hour - 90765 -- Intravenous infusion, for therapy, prophylaxis or diagnosis (specify substance or drug); initial, up to one hour - 90772 -- Therapeutic, prophylactic or diagnostic injection (specify substance or drug); subcutaneous or intramuscular - 90774 -- - intravenous push, single or initial substance/drug - +90775 -- - each additional sequential intravenous push of a [...]