Codes 36415, Collection of venous blood by venipuncture, and 36416, Collection of capillary blood specimen (eg, finger, heel, ear stick), should be used instead to report venipunctures for hospitals paid under the OPPS. The instructions for billing venipunctures remain the same.
Venous blood collection by venipuncture and capillary blood specimen collection (CPT codes 36415 and 36416) will be reimbursed once per patient per date of service when reported by the Same Individual Physician or Other Qualified Health Care Professional.
Encounter for blood typing. Z01.83 is a billable/specific ICD-10-CM code that can be used to indicate a diagnosis for reimbursement purposes.
The medical record must contain: Justification that the venipuncture required the skill of a physician and therefore it was reasonable and necessary for venipuncture to be performed by a physician (e.g., MD or DO) or qualified non-physician practitioner (e.g., Nurse Practitioner, Physician's Assistant).
The most common method and site of venipuncture is the insertion of a needle into the cubital vein of the anterior forearm at the elbow fold. Please refer to the coding section of this policy for the procedure code most applicable to the method of blood withdrawal.
ICD-10-CM Code for Encounter for preprocedural laboratory examination Z01. 812.
2022 ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code Z01. 812: Encounter for preprocedural laboratory examination.
Guidelines in parenthesis directly under CPT code 36592. Venipuncture or phlebotomy is the puncture of a vein with a needle or an IV catheter to withdraw blood. Venipuncture is the most common method used to obtain blood samples for blood or serum lab procedures, and is sometimes referred to as a “blood draw.”
The documentation should refer to the written lab order by date and location (e.g., “in the 8/31/16 progress note”) and list the date of venipuncture, time, site, and patient tolerance of the procedure.
Submit CPT code 36415 for all routine venipunctures, not requiring the skill of a physician, for specimen collection. This includes all venipunctures performed on superficial peripheral veins of the upper and lower extremities.
ICD-10 Code for Encounter for blood typing- Z01. 83- Codify by AAPC.
Physician-Performed Venipuncture If a venipuncture performed in the office setting requires the skill of a physician for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes, the performing physician can bill Medicare both for the collection – using CPT code 36410 – and for the lab work performed in-office.
36415 is a laboratory service and should be billed as such. Physicians often provide routine venipuncture to patients when ordering a laboratory test to save the patient a trip to the laboratory.
Lab Handling Codes 36415—Collection of venous blood by venipuncture.
Does CPT Code 36415 Need a Modifier? CPT 36415 does not require a modifier to override the edit. Modifier' 59′ is not a valid modifier for venipuncture. When billing with office visits, use modifier '25' with E/M.
CPT code 36415 describes collection of venous blood by venipuncture. Each unit of service (UOS) of this code includes all collections of venous blood by venipuncture during a single episode of care regardless of the number of times venipuncture is performed to collect venous blood specimens.
Many coders and physicians seem to believe that if a patient comes in for a service (blood work, shot, pressure check, etc) and is not seen by the physician, they can automatically bill a 99211. Not necessarily true. The guidelines for most evaluation and management (E/M) codes are very precise.
Report routine venipuncture with 36415 Collection of venous blood, by venipuncture. Per CPT® instruction, never append modifier 63 Procedure performed on infant s less than 4kg to 36415, even for very young and small patients.#N#The CMS 2015 National Physician Fee Schedule Relative Value File assigns 36415 an “X” status code, meaning that the service is “not in the statutory definition of ‘physician services’ for fee schedule payment purposes.” As such, Medicare will not reimburse for routine venipuncture. Some private payers also may not pay for the service (check with your individual payer for details).#N#CPT® includes several other codes to describe venipuncture requiring a physician’s skill. These codes differentiate patients by age and, for those patients younger than 3 years old, by the vein accessed:
Report venipuncture (whether routine or requiring physician skill) only once per patient encounter , regardless of the number of specimens drawn. Also, note that 36410 is a “separate procedure” and is not separately reported if the venipuncture occurs as a part of a more extensive service.
Medicare will separately reimburse for these procedures. Report 36400-36410 only if documentation supports medical necessity, and the notes should describe any special circumstances. Do not report 36400-36410 if a nurse or physician assistant administers the venipuncture, or if the physician draws blood because an assistant is not available.
John Verhovshek, MA, CPC, is a contributing editor at AAPC. He has been covering medical coding and billing, healthcare policy, and the business of medicine since 1999. He is an alumnus of York College of Pennsylvania and Clemson University.
CPT code 36415 describes collection of venous blood by venipuncture. Each unit of service (UOS) of this code includesall collections of venous blood by venipuncture during a singleepisode of care regardless of the number of times venipuncture isperformed to collect venous blood specimens. Two or morecollections of venous blood by venipuncture during the sameepisode of care are not reportable as additional UOS.
2. Don’t append modifier 63. Modifier 63 describes a procedure performed on infant less than 4 kg. CPT® instructs us that that use of modifier 63 with 36415 is inappropriate.
36410 Venipuncture, age 3 years or older, necessitating physician skill (separate procedure), for diagnostic or therapeutic purpose s (not to be used for routine venipuncture) Medicare will separately reimbur se for 36400-36410, but only if documentation supports medical necessity.
John Verhovshek, MA, CPC, is a contributing editor at AAPC. He has been covering medical coding and billing, healthcare policy, and the business of medicine since 1999. He is an alumnus of York College of Pennsylvania and Clemson University.
Venipuncture is the process of withdrawing a sample of blood for the purpose of analysis or testing. There are several different methods for the collection of a blood sample. The most common method and site of venipuncture is the insertion of a needle into the Cubital vein of the anterior forearm at the elbow fold.
Venipuncture or phlebotomy is the puncture of a vein with a needle or an IV catheter to withdraw blood. Venipuncture is the most common method used to obtain blood samples for blood or serum lab procedures, and is sometimes referred to as a “blood draw.” Collection of a capillary blood specimen (36416) or of venous blood from an existing access line or by venipuncture that does not require a physician’s skill or a cutdown is considered “routine venipuncture.”
Laboratory Handling Laboratory handling and conveyance CPT codes 99000 and 99001 and HCPCS code H0048 are included in the overall management of a patient and are not separately reimbursed when submitted with another code, or when submitted as the only code on a claim for the same date of service.
ConnectiCare considers venipuncture code S9529 (Routine venipuncture for collection of Specimen (s), single homebound, nursing home, or skilled nursing facility patient) a nonreimbursable service. The description for S9529 focuses on place of service for a service that is more precisely represented by CPT code 36415 and reported with the appropriate CMS place of service code.
Consistent with CMS, ConnectiCare considers collection of a specimen from a completely implantable venous access device and from an established catheter (CPT codes 36591 and 36592) to be bundled into services assigned a CMS NPFS Status Indicator of A, R or T provided on the same date of service by the Same Individual Physician or Other Qualified Health Care Professional, for which payment is made. When CPT code 36591 is submitted with CPT code 36592, CPT code 36592 is the only venipuncture code considered eligible for reimbursement. No modifier overrides will exempt CPT code 36591 from bundling into CPT code 36592.
HCPCS code Q0091 (screening Papanicolaou smear, obtaining, preparing, and conveyance of cervical or vaginal smear to laboratory) is eligible for reimbursement for Medicare beneficiaries only. For all other products it is considered to be part of the E/M and Pap smear codes and is not eligible for separate reimbursement.
Reimbursement for the venipuncture is included in the reimbursement for the lab test procedure code.
If you are submitting a non-covered service to Medicare for denial purposes, the service may be submitted with HCPCS modifier GY. This modifier lets us know that an item or service is statutorily excluded or does not meet the definition of any Medicare benefit.
In addition, HCPCS code G0471 for the collection of venous blood by venipuncture or urine sample by catheterization from an individual in a skilled nursing facility (SNF) or by a laboratory on behalf of a home health agency (HHA) collected by a laboratory technician that is employed by the laboratory that is performing the test will be eligible for separate reimbursement when reported with a laboratory service.
Venipuncture is the process of withdrawing a sample of blood for the purpose of analysis or testing. There are several different methods for the collection of a blood sample. The most common method and site of venipuncture is the insertion of a needle into the cubital vein of the anterior forearm at the elbow fold.
Venipuncture or phlebotomy is the puncture of a vein with a needle to withdraw blood. Venipuncture is the most common method used to obtain blood samples for blood or serum lab procedures, and is sometimes referred to as a “blood draw.”
Physicians who satisfy the specimen collection fee criteria and choose to bill Medicare for the specimen collection must use Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) Code 36415, “Routine venipuncture – Collection of venous blood by venipuncture.
b. If the patient has an I.V., one alternative to an impossible venipuncture is to request the nurse in charge to disconnect the I.V., wait at least 2 minutes, and draw blood from the needle already in the vein. Just remember that at least 3 ml should be discarded before the samples are collected. This avoids dilution and contamination of the sample with the I.V. fluid. Alternately, venipuncture can be performed in this arm after the 2 minute wait.
The needle may have penetrated the vein too far. In that case, pull back gently. If the needle has not penetrated far enough, gently push it in. Use the free index finger to feel above the puncture to locate the vein. Do not probe through tissue. This is painful and damaging. It may be just necessary to change the needle angle slightly. The bevel of the needle may be up against the vein wall and may be obstructing the blood flow.
CPT codes, descriptions and other data only are copyright 2021 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved. Applicable FARS/HHSARS apply.
The information in this Supplemental Instructions Article (SIA) contains coding or other guidelines for Venipuncture Necessitating Physician’s Skill for Specimen Collection. Coding Guidelines: General Guidelines for claims submitted to Part A or Part B MAC: Procedure codes may be subject to National Correct Coding Initiative (NCCI) edits or OPPS packaging edits.
Contractors may specify Bill Types to help providers identify those Bill Types typically used to report this service. Absence of a Bill Type does not guarantee that the article does not apply to that Bill Type.
Contractors may specify Revenue Codes to help providers identify those Revenue Codes typically used to report this service. In most instances Revenue Codes are purely advisory. Unless specified in the article, services reported under other Revenue Codes are equally subject to this coverage determination.
Routine venipuncture for specimen collection may be safely and effectively performed by a properly trained and licensed non-physician professional (e.g., nurse, phlebotomist, and medical technician) on peripheral superficial veins of the upper or lower extremities.
Justification that the venipuncture required the skill of a physician and therefore it was reasonable and necessary for venipuncture to be performed by a physician (e.g., MD or DO) or qualified non-physician practitioner (e.g., Nurse Practitioner, Physician's Assistant).
CPT code 36410, venipuncture necessitating physician's skill, is defined as a venipuncture for which the skill of a physician is required for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes. Note: 36410 should not to be used for routine venipuncture.
Payment for CPT 36410 is reimbursable when it is necessary for the venipuncture to actually be performed by a physician; specifically, when it is medically necessary and reasonable to perform the venipuncture. The medical record must contain: