radial access abandoned

[theresa.dix@tennova.com]

I have a question. If during radial access is abandoned due to torturous vessel and the heart cath has to be done thru the femoral. Is the radial access billable? I know for periphs it is.

Thanks

 

[dimmitta]

That's a good question, I'm curious to know how others would handle this situation. I believe I have billed for this circumstance before but I am unsure if it paid or not. The one I can recall the patient had a congenital anomaly in the radial/brachial area and that is why access was terminated and access gained in the femoral. I don't see it happen very often though.

 

[theresa.dix@tennova.com]

That's a good question, I'm curious to know how others would handle this situation. I believe I have billed for this circumstance before but I am unsure if it paid or not. The one I can recall the patient had a congenital anomaly in the radial/brachial area and that is why access was terminated and access gained in the femoral. I don't see it happen very often though.

No not very often but I believe you can bill for it as long as its not for roadmapping. Just checking if others do? It was a question posed to me from a few others. As long as there is medical necessity.

 

[dpeoples]

I have a question. If during radial access is abandoned due to torturous vessel and the heart cath has to be done thru the femoral. Is the radial access billable? I know for periphs it is.

Thanks

This tends to be subjective to me. I would not normally bill for an abandoned access (36140 or 36120 etc). However, if the doc actually advances a catheter to the aorta or beyond and then abandons, that is occassionally an exception. I will say that billing for this is permitted by coding convention standards, but I doubt that it is very often reimburesed.

HTH

 

[theresa.dix@tennova.com]

This tends to be subjective to me. I would not normally bill for an abandoned access (36140 or 36120 etc). However, if the doc actually advances a catheter to the aorta or beyond and then abandons, that is occassionally an exception. I will say that billing for this is permitted by coding convention standards, but I doubt that it is very often reimburesed.

HTH

Thanks Danny!