Hello
pinky72034@aol.com
Please don't post multiple times for same scenario. I posted on your original post (deleted it) to post on your most recent post.
Yes, just reviewing the slides along with the pathology report from an outside facility requesting a consultation, warrants billing 88321
with no other work performed/documented.
88325 per our CPT book states "Consultation, comprehensive, with review of records and specimens, with report on referred material".
That means the pathologists is looking at more than just the slides and pathology report received (as stated above).
They are looking at other testing/results to base their final interpretation on such as radiology exams, molecular studies, cytogenetics, other pathology reports, laboratory results, or other ancillary studies to formalize and provide their personal interpretation on the patient's medical condition.
The pathology report should not only mention that a "comprehensive" consultation was performed but the pathologist's should document everything they did such as reviewed xxxx studies and xyxyxy report along with yyyyy results to provide the basis for their final interpretation. The pathologist's wants to bill a comprehensive 88325 consultation; they simply need to document the pathology report providing the entire explanation on what they did (every step of the way) to receive those RVUs for "Comprehensive Consultation" CPT 88325 versus a standard "Consultation" CPT 88321.
Thanks for listening,
Dana