tci Part B Insider - 2015 Issue 42

Reader Question: Know How to Identify Thoracentesis

Question: A patient with shortness of breath reports to the ED. The physician obtains pertinent historical information and performs an exam, including auscultation of the lungs, which sound muffled.  He then taps on the patient’s chest and notes a dull “thud.” A chest X-ray confirms the presence of a large pleural effusion. Notes substantiate a level-four E/M. Based on the evaluation, the physician decides to perform thoracentesis. After the patient is prepped, pleural fluid is withdrawn through a needle into a syringe and sent to the laboratory for analysis. A catheter is left in place...

To read the full article, sign in and subscribe to tci Part B Insider.


Keep pace with evolving Medicare regulations with timely analysis of critical updates interpreted in an easy-to-follow, easy-to-apply format. Your subscription to TCI’s Part B Insider will equip you to navigate code and guideline changes, CCI edits, and revisions to modifiers, the fee schedule, OIG target areas, and more.

  • Current newsletters added each month
  • Fully searchable archives - over 4800 articles
  • ALL years/issues back to 2003 organized by year and issue
  • Codes mentioned in articles are linked to Code Information pages
  • Code Information pages link back to related articles

This feature is currently unavailable for online purchase. For more information, please call 801-770-4203 or Contact Us.

demo
request yours today
subscribe
start today
newsletter
free subscription

Thank you for choosing Find-A-Code, please Sign In to remove ads.