jfolz
Networker
(I code for a hospital outpatient facility.)
I came across a case today and was wondering if anyone else had dealt with this situation?
Pt comes in for a neurostim generator change (due to dead battery) but the old leads (that are functioning fine) do not have the same connector that the new generator needs to connect to. There is an adapter "extension" that has to be placed in order for the old leads to hook into the new generator.
I coded it as a lead revision 63663 but I didn't feel great about lumping "plugging in an adapter" with actually revising or even repositioning those leads. I added a -52 modifier.
The more I think about it... I could see coding the 63663 IF there was an issue with the leads not being long enough or the patient having some other problem with the leads themselves but they were fine and required no adjustments. It was actually the new generator that needed the adapter to work with the existing leads.
Am I just thinking about this too hard? I have to justify the supply codes that are going over and don't want to go with anything unlisted (obvs) but feel like 63663 is so much more extensive than what was done during this encounter...
I can't find any guidance on line regarding adapters. If anyone has seen any literature or has an opinion, I would LOVE to hear it.
Thanks in advance!
I came across a case today and was wondering if anyone else had dealt with this situation?
Pt comes in for a neurostim generator change (due to dead battery) but the old leads (that are functioning fine) do not have the same connector that the new generator needs to connect to. There is an adapter "extension" that has to be placed in order for the old leads to hook into the new generator.
I coded it as a lead revision 63663 but I didn't feel great about lumping "plugging in an adapter" with actually revising or even repositioning those leads. I added a -52 modifier.
The more I think about it... I could see coding the 63663 IF there was an issue with the leads not being long enough or the patient having some other problem with the leads themselves but they were fine and required no adjustments. It was actually the new generator that needed the adapter to work with the existing leads.
Am I just thinking about this too hard? I have to justify the supply codes that are going over and don't want to go with anything unlisted (obvs) but feel like 63663 is so much more extensive than what was done during this encounter...
I can't find any guidance on line regarding adapters. If anyone has seen any literature or has an opinion, I would LOVE to hear it.
Thanks in advance!