Wiki Urine Drug Screens

[stlbill511]

Our office has a worker in it who is employed by the lab. She takes the urine and does a quick sample in the office to see if the test is negative for opiates so they can stay on suboxone and then she sends it off to the lab for a final test. The doctor does not pay anything to the lab for this service nor does he pay the worker to take the sample. Can the doctor bill for a urine drug screen 80102 and G0434 for Medicare since the first test is done in the office?

Thanks for all your help

Caroline

 

[eadun2000]

No he cannot charge for it. The lab is doing all of the work (collecting it and performing the lab). Just because the patient is in his office does not mean that he gets to charge for something he did not do. That is like a doctor trying to charge for writing a script for the patient to get lab work at Quest or something. All he get is a point in his mdm .

 

[stlbill511]

Thanks thats what I thought but I wanted to verify it. On occasion when the girl from the lab is not there, then we can bill for it because our staff is collecting it and running the quick results, correct?

 

[marvelh]

Did your office pay for the testing cup or are you using the testing supplies provided by the lab?

If the practice has their own supplies to perform the qualitative (presumptive) testing, i.e. cup, dipstick, cassette, etc and have a CLIA certification to perform the testing, then it would be billable. If the office doesn't have a CLIA certification, then the testing should not be performed. If the practice is not using their own purchased test cup, etc. to perform the test, then it isn't billable.

 

[stlbill511]

We do have a CLIA certificate and he is buying the cups. We were told that the lab girl can collect the sample and if our staff reads the results, then it is billable by the physician. Is this correct or do we have to collect the sample also? If we have to collect the sample also, then we can eliminate the lab girl being in the office.

Caroline