Wiki Billing for anesthesia

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zieben00

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Hi everyone,
Can you help me? When there are multiple codes for a lumbar fusion. How is the anesthesia time figured? I know that we would take into consideration the base usints for the primary procedure: 22612, but would I add on additional anesthesia time for the additional levels, fusion, and instrumentation? Can you provide references, as I need to present this information to my boss? Thank you, Erin
  • 22612 (posterior fusion, first level)
  • 22614 x 2 (additional levels)
  • 22630 (interbody fusion, first interspace)
  • 22632 x 2 (additional interspaces)
  • 22842 (posterior segmental instrumentation, 3-6 segments)
  • 22853 x 3 (interbody cage placement, one per interspace)
  • 20936 (local autograft)
 
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When there are multiple surgical codes for a lumbar fusion, the anesthesia time is the continuous, combined total time from when the anesthesia provider begins preparing the patient to when they are no longer furnishing services. This entire, unbroken block of time is used to calculate the anesthesia time units, regardless of whether the surgery involves several coded procedures.

How to Figure Anesthesia Time:
  1. 1. Start Time:
    Anesthesia time begins when the provider starts preparing the patient for the procedure in the operating room or an equivalent area.

  2. 2. End Time:
    The time ends when the provider has finished their work and the patient can be safely placed under postoperative care.

  3. 3. Continuous Block:
    This entire period is considered continuous time, and no breaks are taken out.

  4. 4. Time Units:
    The total continuous time is divided into 15-minute increments to determine the number of time units.

  5. 5. Calculation:
    The total anesthesia time (in minutes) is divided by 15 to get the time units for billing. For example, 63 minutes is 4.2 time units (63 / 15 = 4.2).
 
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zieben00 said:
Hi everyone,
Can you help me? When there are multiple codes for a lumbar fusion. How is the anesthesia time figured? I know that we would take into consideration the base usints for the primary procedure: 22612, but would I add on additional anesthesia time for the additional levels, fusion, and instrumentation? Can you provide references, as I need to present this information to my boss? Thank you, Erin
  • 22612 (posterior fusion, first level)
  • 22614 x 2 (additional levels)
  • 22630 (interbody fusion, first interspace)
  • 22632 x 2 (additional interspaces)
  • 22842 (posterior segmental instrumentation, 3-6 segments)
  • 22853 x 3 (interbody cage placement, one per interspace)
  • 20936 (local autograft)
Click to expand...
Please review the Anesthesia Guidelines four on page 68 of the 2025 CPT manual. If you have other specific anesthesia coding/billing questions, please feel free to send me a private message.
 
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Papitha said:
When there are multiple surgical codes for a lumbar fusion, the anesthesia time is the continuous, combined total time from when the anesthesia provider begins preparing the patient to when they are no longer furnishing services. This entire, unbroken block of time is used to calculate the anesthesia time units, regardless of whether the surgery involves several coded procedures.

How to Figure Anesthesia Time:
  1. 1. Start Time:
    Anesthesia time begins when the provider starts preparing the patient for the procedure in the operating room or an equivalent area.

  2. 2. End Time:
    The time ends when the provider has finished their work and the patient can be safely placed under postoperative care.

  3. 3. Continuous Block:
    This entire period is considered continuous time, and no breaks are taken out.

  4. 4. Time Units:
    The total continuous time is divided into 15-minute increments to determine the number of time units.

  5. 5. Calculation:
    The total anesthesia time (in minutes) is divided by 15 to get the time units for billing. For example, 63 minutes is 4.2 time units (63 / 15 = 4.2).
Click to expand...
Thank you for the breakdown. I appreciate it. We were trying to figure out how to determine anesthesia costs when providing estimates for procedures.
 
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