Pathology/Lab Coding Alert

Capture this add-on for intraoperative consultations. Chose the wrong code and you could lose your newfound tissue preparation pay. CPT 2010's + symbol and text instruction mean payers will expect you to report +88388 (Macroscopic examination, dissection, and preparation of tissue for non-microscopic analytical studies [e.g., nucleic acid-based molecular studies]; in conjunction with a touch imprint, intraoperative consultation, or frozen section, each tissue preparation [e.g., a single lymph node] [List separately in addition to code for primary procedure]) with certain other codes. When the pathologist performs the special preparation as discussed in "Garner Molecular Studies Preparation Pay -- Here's How," you'll need to choose between two codes. Let our experts tell you the companion codes for +88388, as well as when you should expect to use 88387 (each tissue preparation [e.g., a single lymph node]) instead. Add +88388 to Intraoperative Consults When your pathologist performs macroscopic tissue exam and dissection [...]