Wiki Ace bandages, bandaids, gauze, oh my!

[hthompson]

I wanted to ask those of you who are familiar with coding out each supply if you actually do that? I'm working with different insurances and some cash pay patients, so I'm thinking in general terms.

If a patient comes in with an ankle sprain and gets an ace bandage, do you bill for that separately?

How about wound care with gauze, profore, polymem?

This patient had a scratch and got some bandaids and triple antibiotic ointment sent home with her. Do you itemize those out or is it included in the E/M?

I've gone back and forth at times and I want to know what the "correct" way is to bill for these supplies. Is there a reference you can point me to? I use the HCPCS manual, so maybe I'll search around in there for some guidelines too.

I'd heard somewhere that you can only bill for it if it was sent home with the patient as an extra. Something like, "you can't bill for the 2x2 and ointment that you put on the wound, but if you send extra home with the pt, you can bill for it" What's up with that?

Thanks in advance!!

 

[DGWILSON]

Gauze and bandages

Some supplies can be billed (which are listed in parenthetical notes by the CPT procedure codes). In the scenario of gauze and bandages, they have always been included as part of the code we use.

 

[capricew]

I went to a seminar last year for physician billing that stated you can bill supplies given to patients to ins companies. For the supplies you are mentioning they are your a6000-a6500 codes in the hcps ii book.

The only stipulation, as i understood it, was that you could only bill commercial carriers. Not medicare or medicaid.

Most carriers will probably deny them though, as it is listed at carriers discretion.

Caprice -- cpc