Pathology/Lab Coding Alert

New bundles confirm 88387-88388 restrictions.CPT 2010 opened the door to charges for sterile macroscopic tissue dissection prior to molecular diagnostics tests -- but not prior to microbiology or flow cytometry.Just to make sure you got the message, the latest version of Medicare's Correct Coding Initiative (CCI) adds 55 edit pairs limiting how you should use these codes:88387 -- Macroscopic examination, dissection, and preparation of tissue for nonmicroscopic analytical studies (e.g., nucleic acid-based molecular studies); each tissue preparation (e.g., a single lymph node)+88388 -- ... in conjunction with a touch imprint, intraoperative consultation, or frozen section, each tissue preparation (e.g., a single lymph node) (List separately in addition to code for primary procedure).CCI version 16.2 became effective July 1. Microbiology Includes Tissue PrepCPT 2010 states that you should not report 88387-88388 "for tissue preparation for microbiologic cultures.""That rules out reporting 88387 or +88388 in addition to microbiology cultures from tissue sources," says Peggy Slagle, [...]