Wiki CPT 20611 "permanent recording and reporting"

[aking3151]

When my provider wants to bill CPT 20611 does the documentation have to exactly say "with permanent recording and reporting"?

 

[OpenClaims]

No, you should not need to. The code itself says:

20611

ARTHROCENTESIS, ASPIRATION AND/OR INJECTION, MAJOR JOINT OR BURSA (EG, SHOULDER, HIP, KNEE, SUBACROMIAL BURSA); WITH ULTRASOUND GUIDANCE, WITH "PERMANENT RECORDING AND REPORTING"

You can see details here: Article - Billing and Coding: Intraarticular Knee Injections of Hyaluronan (A56157)

 

[amyjph]

No, they don't have to say those exact words. The procedure report has to be documented properly. The ultrasound has to be documented and you would want to read up on the requirements/guidelines for storing the images, etc. See the CPT guidelines for Radiology Supervision and Interpretation. The 20611 guidlines refer to this under Imaging Guidance. A permanent recording of the ultrasound guidance must be included in the documentation.

Reference - from 2018 but still true CPT Code 20610 or 20611? - KarenZupko&Associates, Inc.
Reference AAPC - Coding Arthrocentesis Is a Joint Effort

It's the same concept as when we used to report 76942 prior to the CPT changes. It requires permanent documentation of ultrasound images and written documentation.