Drug screens revisited – Take note of these changes to drug screen codes

Why This Topic Matters

Drug screen coding changes can affect claim accuracy, reimbursement, and denial risk. This update helps readers understand the scope of the changes and the related Medicare policy context.

Article Sections

1. Overview of drug screen code changes

   Introduces the update cycle for drug screen procedures and frames the changes as a combination of CPT and CMS revisions effective in 2011.

2. New and revised drug screen codes

   Summarizes the newly added and revised drug screen reporting options and notes the associated Medicare policy direction and code status changes.

3. Billing considerations for in-house testing

   Discusses broad billing considerations for practices performing drug screen testing in-house, including general compliance and claim-submission topics.

4. Frequency and edit limitations

   Covers general limits on how often the service can be reported and references Medicare edit controls that affect claim processing.

5. Official resource

   Provides a source citation for the related Medicare guidance document.