Primary Care Coding Alert

Question: I have a family physician who does HPV testing whenever she does a Pap smear, unless the patient says that she already had the screening done. Is the HPV test included in the Pap? If I can separately report the HPV, what ICD-9 codes should I use? Kentucky Subscriber Answer: A human papillomavirus (HPV) test is not part of the screening Pap smear. Although both tests screen for cervical cancer, the HPV test is more specific, checking only genetic evidence for the presence of HPV. Current recommendations don't include doing an HPV test together with the Pap smear. In addition, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) concludes that the evidence is insufficient to recommend for or against the routine use of HPV testing as a primary screening test for cervical cancer. The agency found poor evidence to determine the benefits and potential harms of HPV screening as [...]