Wiki -52 or -53?

[loramarrs]

I work for an allergist and sometimes patients start a pulmonary function test and then cannot complete it. The patient does not necessarily ask to stop it and the physician does not request that the patient stop. The patient simply cannot continue. Should I add the -52 modifier for reduced services or the -53 modifier for discontinued services?

 

[mbuike]

I think -53.

Hi,
It seems to me like -53 is most appropriate, since it really was a discontinued procedure. This would be consistant with Appendix A's explanation "due to extenuating circumstances" (but not the second part "Or those that threaten the well-being of the patient").
I would definitely use the 53 mod.

 

[srinivas r sajja]

You can go for modifier 53 after anesthesia administration and/or a surgical preparation took place, and the procedure was actually started