Pediatric Coding Alert

Answer: First and foremost, you can forget about using modifier -22 (Unusual procedural services) if bleeding complicates an E/M service. Modifier -22 can only be appended to surgical CPT Codes . Modifier -22 is used most commonly because of excessive bleeding when the bleeding is a direct result of the procedure the physician is performing.

You may need to use a critical care code when the physician is controlling bleeding for a critically ill patient whose condition is potentially life-threatening if the bleeding continues.

  You Be the Expert reviewed by Richard Tuck, MD, FAAP, a practicing pediatrician with Primecare Pediatrics of Zanesville, Ohio.