Pathology/Lab Coding Alert

Don't miss this chance to start your coding planning early

Prepare to update your lab codes for specific immunology and microbiology tests. You-ll see these changes and more in the list of new CPT Codes unveiled by CMS in time for its July 17 public pricing forum.

Study the following chart to get a preview of what's in store for your lab coding in 2007. An -x- substitutes for the last digit of each new code because the AMA had not fully assigned the code numbers prior to releasing them for the meeting. Learn New Codes for Microbial Infections CPT 2007 adds seven organism-specific codes to the microbiology section. The codes describe tests to identify Aspergillus, enterovirus, Streptococcus B, Trichomonas vaginalis, and Staphylococcus aureus -- including the methecillan-resistant strain.

The AMA places the new codes into the method-based code families for enzyme immunoassay, nucleic acid or immunoassay with direct optical observation, says Peggy Slagle, CPC, billing compliance coordinator at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. Within each code family, the new codes are in alphabetical order by organism.

Don't miss: Four of the new microbiology codes describe infectious agent identification by nucleic acid -- a process that uses some molecular diagnostics techniques. To clarify that you should not use the method-based molecular diagnostics codes 83890-83914 when the lab uses the techniques for a specific, listed organism in the microbiology section, CPT 2007 adds a text note preceding 83890: (For microbial identification, see 87470-87801).  

New way: Watch for two new immunology codes for West Nile virus antibody (8678x). -These codes describe tests to diagnose patients with West Nile virus,- Slagle says. You will no longer report these tests with generic code 86790 (Antibody; virus, not elsewhere specified).