I need to see if anyone else doing this.
We receive a Thyroid FNA samples in our lab in one of two ways:
Scenario #1 Sample comes from the facility with prepared slides AND a Thinprep vial containing the needle rinse. The prepared slides are stained and cover slipped and the Thinprep Vial is processed with a single slide made. A cell block is made if material is present for that. When this scenario happens we bill a 88173 and 88305 because our cytology department is doing all of this.
Scenario #2 Sample comes into our lab from the facility with the slides prepared. Our lab only has to stain and coverslip these slides. When this happens we feel that we should only bill 88104.
The question is; should the same billing code 88173 be used for both of these scenarios or should scenario #2 have the code of only 88104 because has much less work needed.
We receive a Thyroid FNA samples in our lab in one of two ways:
Scenario #1 Sample comes from the facility with prepared slides AND a Thinprep vial containing the needle rinse. The prepared slides are stained and cover slipped and the Thinprep Vial is processed with a single slide made. A cell block is made if material is present for that. When this scenario happens we bill a 88173 and 88305 because our cytology department is doing all of this.
Scenario #2 Sample comes into our lab from the facility with the slides prepared. Our lab only has to stain and coverslip these slides. When this happens we feel that we should only bill 88104.
The question is; should the same billing code 88173 be used for both of these scenarios or should scenario #2 have the code of only 88104 because has much less work needed.