Urology Coding Alert

You might be able to report an E/M visit separate from 51798 -- find out how. If you don't know the nuances of bladder scan coding and when you can also separately report an E/M service, you could be missing out on $66 your urologist legitimately deserves. Here are three guidelines that will ensure you're not costing your urologist deserved reimbursement by under-coding bladder scan encounters. Avoid Always Reporting an Ultrasound Code If you're billing an ultrasonic CPT code whenever your urologist uses an ultrasonic device to perform a bladder scan, you could be setting yourself up for denials. You need to dig into the documentation and determine why your physician performed the bladder scan. If the scan's sole purpose was to measure post-voiding residual urine, you should always bill 51798 (Measurement of postvoiding residual urine and/or bladder capacity by ultrasound, non-imaging), says Alice Kater, CPC, PCS, coder for Urology Associates [...]