Medicine: Pulmonary (Q&A) (March 2019)

March 2019 page 11 Medicine: Pulmonary Question: If spirometry is the basic element of pulmonary function testing, what was the rationale for excluding spirometry from the descriptor of code 94618 and including spirometry in the descriptor of code 94617 ? Also, is it appropriate to report both codes 94617 and 94618 during the same session? Answer: Many of the tests found in the Pulmonary Diagnostic Testing and Therapies subsection ( 94010 - 94799 ) do not include and/or require spirometry. Code 94618 , Pulmonary stress testing (eg, 6-minute walk test), including measurement of heart rate, oximetry, and oxygen titration, when performed...

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Note:  The following article synopsis was NOT provided by the AMA. It was created by Find-A-Code/innoviHealth.

Article Overview

This article addresses a pulmonary coding question from CPT Assistant and discusses how selected pulmonary diagnostic testing services are described within the pulmonary diagnostic testing and therapies subsection. It is aimed at coders, auditors, and clinical documentation staff who need to understand the general scope of the guidance, the relevant CPT code family, and the documentation issues highlighted in the discussion.

Why This Topic Matters

Pulmonary diagnostic testing often involves overlapping services, and this article helps readers understand the article’s focus on code descriptors, test components, and same-session reporting considerations at a high level.

Article Sections

  1. March 2019 page 11

    A brief Q&A discussing pulmonary diagnostic testing within the CPT pulmonary subsection and the general relationship between exercise-based testing and spirometry. The section centers on documentation and reporting context for selected pulmonary services.

What You Will Learn

  • The general scope of selected pulmonary diagnostic testing services
  • How the article frames spirometry in relation to exercise-based pulmonary testing
  • What kinds of documentation considerations are discussed for same-encounter reporting
  • How the article fits within the CPT pulmonary diagnostic testing and therapies subsection

Who Should Read This

  • Medical coders
  • Coding auditors
  • Clinical documentation specialists
  • Revenue cycle professionals
  • Pulmonary practice staff

Codes Discussed

Code Ranges Discussed


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