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Wiki coding questions

Jessim929

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Hi All!

We have a new doctor joining our group who does stuff none of the other 30 providers in my group does. So he raised some questions I didn't even anticipate! ANY help anyone can give is VERY appreciated!!

1. Surgical microscope (mainly for TESE/TESA) - does it add enough RVUs (3.46) to be significant enough to bill or is it more useful as a tracking code like S2900?
2. Does anyone bill for activation of prosthesis (penile, AUS, etc) codes? I always thought it was part of the surgical package.
3. Artificial erection is 54235 - is it the same code for detumescence? Or is that not billable because it's assumed if you put it up, you gotta take it down? ;) (my logic says the latter)
4. When he puts in an IPP, he makes a penoscrotal incision, so he basically does a Dartos Flap at closure, it's billable but it becomes the primary procedure, so is it more of a judgement call on the surgeon on how significant to the procedure it is to make it billable?
5. Needle biopsy of testes to check for sperm - is it usually payable for azospermia (sp?) or ogliospermia? He's doing it to mainly see if there is sperm to determine of there's a blockage causing the infertility. I know that anything with an infertility diagnosis on it is not usually covered by insurance and would be cash pay, but if there's a case for it where we can bill it, what are those common instances?
 
I can answer a couple of your questions:
Artificial erection is 54235 and if you put it up you've got to put it down. No, you would not bill for detumescence.
*Side note, I have a physician who teaches patients how to do self-injections of Trimix in the office - you cannot bill 54235 since this is the same as teaching a patient any kind of self-injection and it is included in the E/M service

Activation of a prosthesis (penile, AUS) is part of the surgical package. If done outside of global period, then it would be included as part of the E/M service.

Hope this helps some
Teresa D
 
That's exactly what I thought about the artificial erection and the prosthesis activations - and it makes sense. I'm not going to artificially inflate his A/R unnecessarily.

Thank you!!!
 
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