Radiology Coding Alert

Sidestep common unit mishaps like a pro -- we'll show you how. Breast biopsy coding choices add up pretty quickly because your radiologist has options for various biopsy and imaging methods. And you may have to determine whether she performed clip placement, too. But you can nail stereotactic breast biopsy coding every time with these three easy to implement steps. 1. Use Key Words to Separate 19102 and 19103 When your radiologist performs a stereotactic breast biopsy, you first need to determine which biopsy code to report. You'll have to decide between 19102 (Biopsy of breast; percutaneous, needle core, using imaging guidance) and 19103 (... percutaneous, automated vacuum assisted or rotating biopsy device, using imaging guidance) based on the documentation your radiologist provides. How to choose: "The difference between 19102 and 19103 is that 19102 is only the needle core biopsy using imaging," explains Karen Caputo, CCS-P, certified coder for the [...]