icd 10 code for specimen handling

What is the HCPCS level 2 specimen collection code?

HCPCS Level II specimen collection codes G2023 and G2024 aren’t the only recent additions related to COVID-19. They join new HCPCS Level II COVID-19 testing codes and a new CPT ® COVID-19 testing code. ICD-10-CM has also added a new code, U07.1 COVID-19, with official coding guidelines.

What is the G2023 code?

As the descriptors reveal, both G2023 and G2024 apply to collection of “any specimen source,” which means you should not restrict your use of these codes based on the source of the specimen. For instance, you should not assume the codes apply only to nasal swabs. The reference to “any specimen source” also may allow you to continue ...

Requisition Information

A single patient requisition is used for up to 6 specimen sites. Once completed, it must be placed in one of the poly bags associated with the specimen containers/case.

Specimen Handling and Transportation

The following guidelines are offered with the goals of ensuring optimal patient/specimen identification and minimizing the risk of formaldehyde exposure to office staff, couriers, and laboratory personnel.

Specimen Labeling

All specimens should be clearly labeled BEFORE being sent to the laboratory for testing, to ensure correct identification of the patient and sample.

Histology Collection Kit

The optimum volume of fixation is 10-20 times of the specimen volume. There are two sizes of specimen containers routinely available for histology. Kit components are ordered separately:

What is filling out paperwork required by the lab?

Filling out any paperwork required by the lab; Labeling and packaging the specimen per the lab’s instructions; and/or. Costs incurred by your practice to transport the specimen to the lab if these, or any other costs, are not already absorbed by the lab.

When did the AMA give the CPT code?

Part of the reason for that lies in the role the American Medical Association (AMA) gave the code in March 2020, when it released its recommendations on CPT ® reporting for COVID-19 testing.

What is 99000 Medicare?

For a code that has no relative value units (RVUs) and commands $0.00 in Medicare nonfacility fees, 99000 Handling and/or conveyance of specimen for transfer from the office to a laboratory has received a disproportionate amount of attention of late.

When to report 99000?

In addition [emphasis retained], code 99000 should be reported when the physician’s office centrifuges the specimen, separates the serum and labels, and packages the specimens for transport to the laboratory.”. It is also important that you do not use 99000 to report the actual procedure for obtaining a specimen.

When was the OIG report on laboratory payments?

The answer can be found tucked away in footnote 12 of the document Special Fraud Alert: Laboratory Payments to Referring Physicians, published by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) on June 25, 2014. It reads:

Is 99000 a transportation code?

But it is important to remember that 99000 is not just for any transportation costs your practice may incur. The code reflects costs to your practice for any work performed over and above the work described by the collection code itself.

When to use 99211?

In the October 1999 issue ( page 16 ), you explained that code 99211 is appropriate for use when a patient is given an injection by a nurse, seen for a blood pressure check or given an allergy injection. Doesn't the physician need to be present to use this code?

What is documentation guidelines?

A. The documentation guidelines speak in terms of presenting problems “with or without an established diagnosis.”. First episodes of a URI, UTI, etc. would likely be considered a new problem to both the patient and the physician, since they would not be an established diagnosis to either.

Can you report E/M code?

A. From a CPT perspective, most procedural services include a certain E/M component. So you should not report an E/M code with a procedural service unless the E/M service was “significant and separately identifiable.”. If you did the key components of an E/M service in addition to removing the carbuncle, I believe that you could report ...

Does 99211 require a physician?

According to CPT, 99211 “may not require the presence of a physician.”. This means, from a CPT perspective, the physician does not need to see the patient for this service to be coded. (See the related article on page 39 .)