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Radiology Coding Alert

Reader Questions:

Use Modifier 53 For Terminated Procedures Due to Health Reasons

Published on Fri Feb 19, 2021

Question: Our radiologist had to terminate an ultrasound (US)-guided percutaneous breast biopsy midway through the procedure due to the patient experiencing a syncopal episode. Are there any guidelines for whether I should use modifier 52 or 53 in this case? Mississippi Subscriber Answer: Appending modifier 53 (Discontinued procedure) to 19083 (Biopsy, breast, with placement of breast localization device(s) (eg, clip, [...]
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