Wiki Does Interpreter/Language barrier meet criteria for 90785?

[mc1030]

Hello,
I work at a BH practice and this code has been a little confusing for me. I read the CPT book but it doesn't really imply that an interpreter or language barrier meets the criteria only communication barrier. I was able to pull a CMS billing and coding article that states that it does meet criteria if a interpreter is involved but this was from 2016. I have been seeing mixed answers for this code. We are located in IL and just need some confirmation about what meets the criteria for this code. The patient speak Spanish and needs a Spanish interpreter present when meeting with the provider. If this code does not meet the criteria, is there another code that can be use? Any advice or information will be greatly appreciated!

 

[ckeeney]

I found this from the American Psychological Association: https://www.apaservices.org/practic...a.org&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=/search

It is from 2022 and I searched for anything newer and did not. In my 25 years in healthcare interpreter services have never been covered.

 

[mc1030]

I found this from the American Psychological Association: https://www.apaservices.org/practic...a.org&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=/search

It is from 2022 and I searched for anything newer and did not. In my 25 years in healthcare interpreter services have never been covered.

Thank you so much for finding this, I kept finding different ones that was from CMS dated in 2014 and 2016 stating that if an interpreter is involved its validate this code but did not want to rely on this information since its very old. I appreciate this! Now my mind can be at ease lol

 

[natashalage]

wow, very good article. Thank you for sharing it with all of us!

• Do not report 90785 for the purpose of translation or interpretation services.

 

[amyjph]

It makes sense though if you think about it. There is no language barrier if the medical interpreter is being used/present. That's the whole idea of using one.