Urology Coding Alert

Reader Question:

Foley Catheter for Inpatient

Question: What CPT code do you use when the physician changes or inserts a Foley catheter for an inpatient in the hospital at the same time he performs a consultation?

Judy Jerome
Northwest Suburban Urology Associates, SC

Answer: Code 53670* (catherization; urethra; simple) or 53675* (complicated) would be used to bill for catheters placed during an inpatient consultation for treatment of an inflammatory or obstructive condition. However, these codes should not be used if done just prior to a more extensive procedure, or for a more comprehensive procedure such as 51720 (bladder instillation of anticarcinogenic agent [including detention time]).