Pulmonology Coding Alert

Question:The pulmonologist performs a scheduled flexible bronchoscopy on an established 64-year-old patient. The physician takes transbronchial lung biopsies from two lobes. The patient feels some pain, and gets nervous, so the pulmonologist decides to provide 26 minutes of moderate sedation during the procedure. Is it appropriate to report the sedation separately?Nevada SubscriberAnswer:No. You cannot report the moderate sedation (99144, Moderate sedation services [other than those services described by codes 00100-01999] provided by the same physician performing the diagnostic or therapeutic service that the sedation supports, requiring the presence of an independent trained observer to assist in the monitoring of the patient's level of consciousness and physiological status; age 5 years or older, first 30 minutes intra-service time) separately. Remember that moderate sedation is bundled into many of the bronchoscopy codes.Tip: You can tell if moderate sedation is bundled into a procedure code by looking up the code in your CPT [...]