Anesthesia coders have six new codes (01937-01942) that are based on the type and location of the procedure in place of two deleted codes: one for diagnostic procedures (01935) and one code for therapeutic procedures (01936). The six new codes and their new structure require a new approach to coding these high-utilization services.
Pamela Linton, CPC, CANPC, corporate coding manager – anesthesia and pain management for Zotec Partners
will conduct a webinar on the new codes, Tuesday, March 29. Her handout for the 60-minute broadcast includes examples of procedures associated with each anesthesia code, even the common interventional pain management procedures that the American Society of Anesthesiologists’ CROSSWALK® 2022 Book flags as “Anesthesia care not typically required.”
A review of the slides reveals a variety of details about the new codes, including:
- Guidance for reviewing – and improving – documentation for these services (see slide below).
- Tips for meeting Medicare’s new and extremely high bar for anesthesia services performed with epidural steroid injections. (Hint: You’ll probably need more than a diagnosis code.)
- When to report 00300 (Anesthesia for all procedures on the integumentary system, muscles and nerves of head, neck, and posterior trunk, not otherwise specified) instead of a new code.
The live broadcast will begin at 1 p.m., ET. Attendees of the live event will have the opportunity to ask the speaker questions during a Q&A session and will receive their CEUs after they take a quick survey.
If some members of your team can’t attend the live broadcast, no problem. They can listen to the on-demand version that is included with the registration for the live event and receive CEUs after they take and pass a 10-question quiz.