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If a patient comes in for a post-op check up and has an injection given in the post-op site, where would you put the mod.25 since 99024 is a zero charge and will not print out on a claim? All input is apprieciated!
Modifier -79 is for "Unrelated Procedure or Service by the Same Physician During the Postoperative Period"
If you read the description in Appendix A of CPT there is no mention made of returning to the OR.
So, if the injection is unrelated, mod -79 would be appropriate.
don't forget that related services to the original procedure, or determined to be a complication of the original procedure, (within the post-op period) are bundled into the first surgical procedure. You can get more global surgical information on the Medicare Physician's web site under internet manuals, Claims Processing 100-4, chapter 12, section 40 I believe. Or check the NCCI policy manual as well.