Advanced Search

Pathology/Lab Coding Alert

READER QUESTIONS:

Frozen Block Can Fool You

Published on Tue Mar 24, 2009

Question: Our pathologist examined renal biopsy A with an H&E stain and renal biopsy B with an immunofluorescent stain. Should we report 88305 x 2 in addition to a special stain code? North Carolina Subscriber Answer: To answer the question, you have to know with certainty if you-re dealing with one kidney biopsy specimen, or two. Because of the way they-re processed,renal biopsies can often be a source of confusion on this point. Here's why: For hematoxylin and eosin (H & E) staining, the pathologist processes the kidney tissue as a paraffin block. But for immunofluorescent (IF) stains, the pathologist often snap freezes a portion of kidney tissue instead of imbedding it in paraffin. That means you can expect specimen processing to divide a standard renal biopsy into two pieces. Caution: If biopsy -A- and -B- in your example represent the two portions of a single renal specimen, you should [...]
You’ve reached your limit of free articles. Already a subscriber? Log in.
Not a subscriber? Subscribe today to continue reading this article. Plus, you’ll get:
  • Simple explanations of current healthcare regulations and payer programs
  • Real-world reporting scenarios solved by our expert coders
  • Industry news, such as MAC and RAC activities, the OIG Work Plan, and CERT reports
  • Instant access to every article ever published in your eNewsletter
  • 6 annual AAPC-approved CEUs*
  • The latest updates for CPT®, ICD-10-CM, HCPCS Level II, NCCI edits, modifiers, compliance, technology, practice management, and more
*CEUs available with select eNewsletters.

Other Articles in this issue of

Pathology/Lab Coding Alert

View All