Reader Question:
Handling of Lab Specimens
Published on Sun Jul 01, 2001
Question: When we prepare a urine specimen for culture, and the lab picks it up at our office, can we bill the patient? Which code should we use?
Indiana Subscriber Answer: The correct code is 99000 (handling and/or conveyance of specimen for transfer from the physician's office to a laboratory). However, like many codes, this one is not always reimbursed. Your best solution is to seek payment via a change in your contract with payers. You expend time and resources preparing these specimens, and you should be reimbursed. --Answers to "Reader Questions" and "You be the Coder" contributed by Richard H. Tuck, MD, FAAP, founding chair and member, AAP Coding and Reimbursement Committee; Charles Scott, MD, FAAP; A.D. Jacobson, MD, FAAP; and Thomas Kent, CPC, CMM, president, Kent Medical Management.
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