MedAbbrev, now by innoviHealth, has been the industry standard for medical abbreviations and acronyms since 1983. Quick and easy access for hospitals, providers, coders, transcriptionists, students and researchers to over 75,000 entries. With clear and accurate standardization that is always current, medical professionals can reduce the chance of error stemming from misunderstood abbreviations.
tci ED Coding & Reimbursement Alert - 2003 Issue 5
Reader Question: Remove Thoracentesis Uncertainty
Question: How should I code the following situation: The physician uses the thoracentesis needle and catheter mechanism to enter the pleural space. The physician obtains auburn-colored fluid from the wound, which is clear and not bloody and then uses intravenous tubing to drain about 400 cc into the Vacutainer. Code 32000 doesn't seem to apply. The CPT Assistant indicates that the physician wouldn't make an incision for a service reported by 32000. Should I report 32002?
Michigan SubscriberAnswer: You should report 32002 (Thoracentesis with insertion of tube with or without water seal [e.g., for pneumothorax] [separate procedure]). For...
To read the full article, sign in and subscribe to tci ED Coding & Reimbursement Alert.
You have ED coding questions, and we deliver money-in-the-bank answers to help you defeat your claim issues and secure optimal reimbursement.
Stay in the know and avoid federal reproach with your subscription to TCI’s ED Coding and Reimbursement Alert.
Current newsletters added each month
Fully searchable archives - over 2100 articles
ALL years/issues back to 1998 organized by year and issue
Codes mentioned in articles are linked to Code Information pages
Code Information pages link back to related articles
Access to this feature is available in the following products: