Otolaryngology Coding Alert

Question: When should I report 95115 instead of 95117? What other codes are applicable?


Tennessee Subscriber


Answer: When the allergist provides one injection for immunotherapy, you should assign 95115 (Professional services for allergen immunotherapy not including provision of allergenic extracts; single injection). If he gives two or more shots, use 95117 (... two or more injections). Remember that you can report only one code per session.

You should use 95144 (Professional services for the supervision of preparation and provision of antigens for allergen immunotherapy, single-dose vial[s] [specify number of vials]) or 95165 (... single or multiple antigens [specify number of doses]) when the allergist supervises and provides antigens. Again, you'll choose the appropriate supervision codes based on the number of vials or doses. For example, to report the physician's injection and supervision, use 95115 and 95165. For multiple injections, assign 95117 and 95165. In both cases, identify the number of doses, coding experts say.