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Pathology/Lab Coding Alert

Reader Question:

Reserve QW for Waived Labs

Published on Fri Jan 15, 2010

Question: The lab that I work for has a CLIA Certificate of Compliance. Do I need to use modifier QW when we perform CLIA-waived lab tests? Washington Subscriber Answer: No, you do not need to use modifier QW (CLIA waived test) when you're reporting tests that the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) approves for use by waived-status labs. CLIA defines waived tests as "simple laboratory examinations and procedures that have an insignificant risk of an erroneous result." Labs that operate with a certificate of waiver (COW) are allowed to perform only CLIA-waived tests. CLIA-waived labs must list most test codes with modifier QW to indicate that the test they're performing is approved for their certification level. Because your lab is certified for more complex tests, you don't have to use the modifier to show that you're operating within the scope of your license. Also, the following tests don't require modifier QW, [...]
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