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Pathology/Lab Coding Alert

CPT 2011:

88332, 88334: Make Sure You Capture Every Intraop Consult Preparation

Published on Sat Oct 09, 2010

"List separately" instruction clarifies coding for additional slidesIf you get bogged down in how to report multiple frozen sections and/or touch preps that your pathologist performs aspart of an intraoperative consult, CPT 2011 has a gift for you.By adding the parenthetic phrase, "List separately in addition to code for primary procedure," CPT 2011 revises the following codes to provide greater clarity:88332 -- Pathology consultation during surgery; each additional tissue block with frozen section(s) (List separately in addition to code for primary procedure)88334 -- ...; cytologic examination (e.g., touch prep, squash prep), each additional site (List separately in addition to code for primary procedure).The revision shouldn't change how you code, if your pathology practice has been using the codes correctly. However: "If you've been confused about how to bill for multiple frozen sections or multiple touch preps, or even a combination of intraoperative frozen sections and touch preps, the code revision should help [...]
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