Radiology Coding Alert

Plus: Radiology guidelines update instructions on reporting S&I separately. Coding for image guidance with neuroelectrode implant code 64561 will become clearer thanks to a definition change effective Jan. 1, 2013. Leave 76000, 77002 Off Neurostimulator Claims CPT® 2013 revises the descriptor of 64561 by adding the underlined text: Percutaneous implantation of neurostimulator electrode array; sacral nerve (transforaminal placement) including image guidance, if performed. "As with a lot of codes now, imaging is included," explains Christy Shanley, CPC, department administrator for the University of California, Irvine. That means you cannot report codes 76000 (2013 definition: Fluoroscopy [separate procedure], up to 1 hour physician or other qualified health care professional time, other than 71023 or 71034 [e.g., cardiac fluoroscopy]) or 77002 (Fluoroscopic guidance for needle placement [e.g., biopsy, aspiration, injection, localization device]) with 64561, says Michael A. Ferragamo, MD, FACS, clinical assistant professor, University Hospital, State University of New York, Stony Brook. [...]