tci ED Coding & Reimbursement Alert - 2009 Issue 3

Reader Questions: Remember Both Parts of FAST Exam or Lose $$

Question: Encounter notes indicate the ED physician treated a patient with contusions to his chest and abdominal wall. The physician performed a FAST exam and found "no pericardial fluid, no abdominal fluid," according to the report. I have never coded a FAST exam and cannot find the code anywhere in CPT. Can you help? Tennessee SubscriberAnswer: There is no single code for a FAST (focused abdominal sonography for trauma) exam; the procedure involves two steps, and coding for it requires a pair of CPT codes. During a FAST exam, the physician first performs a limited transthoracic echocardiography to...

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