Hi Everyone, This is my first time to use the forum even though I have been a member for nearly 10 years.
Can anyone tell me the proper way to code for drug panels? We are doing an assay type dip test to do qualitative urine checks on patients that we are managing their pain management. We were sending these out. Now the lab is wanting us to do the qualitative and then send to them for the quantitative check.
We are a medium complex independent lab located within the clinic building. The reference lab is telling me to use 80101x11 (one for each drug class checked in the panel). They say this is the correct code because the immunoassay method is used. Whereas, 80100 is for multi drug classes and is to be charged only once per day, but the description states chromatographic method.
My quandry is to go by the multiple vs single description or the method. To use the 80101 feels like I would be unbundling and the "Coding Answer Book" states in it's most recent update 05/08, "It (80100) should be charged only once per day, for the urine or blood specimen analyzed, regardless of the method or the number of drug classes screened."
Which way should this be billed?:
Can anyone tell me the proper way to code for drug panels? We are doing an assay type dip test to do qualitative urine checks on patients that we are managing their pain management. We were sending these out. Now the lab is wanting us to do the qualitative and then send to them for the quantitative check.
We are a medium complex independent lab located within the clinic building. The reference lab is telling me to use 80101x11 (one for each drug class checked in the panel). They say this is the correct code because the immunoassay method is used. Whereas, 80100 is for multi drug classes and is to be charged only once per day, but the description states chromatographic method.
My quandry is to go by the multiple vs single description or the method. To use the 80101 feels like I would be unbundling and the "Coding Answer Book" states in it's most recent update 05/08, "It (80100) should be charged only once per day, for the urine or blood specimen analyzed, regardless of the method or the number of drug classes screened."
Which way should this be billed?: