Reader Questions:
Capture All Malaria Blood Smear Work
Published on Mon Feb 23, 2009
Question: Our lab prepares thick and thin blood smears with a Giemsa stain for a patient with suspected malaria. The pathologist interprets the slides. How should we code this? Maryland Subscriber Answer: You should report the blood smear special stain exam as 87207 (Smear, primary source with interpretation; special stain for inclusion bodies or parasites [e.g., malaria, coccidian, microsporidia, trypanosomes, herpes viruses]). Despite the fact that the pathologist examines both "thick and thin" smears -- concentrated and direct smears -- you shouldn't report 87207 twice. The unit of service for this code is "per stain" for a single specimen (primary source). Do this: You can, however, capture the concentration step by reporting 87015 (Concentration [any type], for infectious agents) in addition to 87207. Don't let Giemsa fool you: Even though a related code lists "Giemsa" in the definition, you should not report 87205 (Smear, primary source with interpretation; Gram or Giemsa stain [...]
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