Pathology/Lab Coding Alert

Question: Our billing company told us that we can now charge a special antibody stain (88342) per slide instead of per specimen, as in the past. Is this correct?Answer: No, you cannot charge 88342 (Immunohistochemistry [including tissue immunoperoxidase], each antibody) per slide. The misinformation probably stems from a recent change in Medicare policy that allows you to bill 88342 per block, not per specimen as you have in the past.Because the 88342 code definition states "per antibody" and the surgical pathology unit of service is the specimen, long standing coding convention dictated that labs report only one unit of 88342 per specimen, per antibody, regardless of the number of blocks, slides, or "levels" involved.CCI change: The Correct Coding Initiative (CCI) Policy Manual revised this understanding, at least for Medicare beneficiaries, with the following statement:"If it is medically reasonable and necessary to perform the same stain on more than one specimen [...]