Coding Strategy

Reading 44373’s code descriptor is key to getting your G Tube claim right.

Question: The gastroenterologist goes to the hospital to treat a patient that had recently been admitted because his gastrojejunostomy tube had migrated to his stomach. After performing a problem focused interval history and exam, the gastroenterologist decides to perform an EGD to reposition the tube. I cannot find a code for repositioning a G tube; how should I code this scenario?

Answer: Judging by your encounter description, the patient’s percutaneous jejunostomy tube (J tube) slipped and became a percutaneous gastrostomy tube (G tube). On the claim, report the following:

• 44373 (Small intestinal endoscopy, enteroscopy beyond second portion of duodenum, not including ileum; with conversion of percutaneousgastrostomy tube to a percutaneous jejunostomy tube) for the EGD;
• 99231 (Subsequent hospital care, per day, for the evaluation and management of a patient, which requires at least 2 of these 3 key components: a problem focused interval history; a problem focused examination; medical decision making that is straightforward or of low complexity …) for the E/M;
• modifier 25 (Significant, separately identifiable evaluation and management service by the same physician on the same day of the procedure or other service) appended to 99231 to show that the E/M and tube fix were separate services; and
• 536.42 (Disorders of function of stomach; gastrostomy complications; mechanical complication of gastrostomy) appended to 44373 and 99231 to represent the patient’s condition.

Explanation: The descriptor for 44373 might be a bit misleading, but it mentions only “tube conversion.” The tube does not necessarily have to be new.

@ Gastroenterology Coding Alert

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87 percent error rate leads to drastic measures.

If you think CMS is only watching your E/M codes when it comes to the office or hospital, think again. One MAC recently reviewed nursing facility care claims and was stunned at the findings.

NGS Medicare, a Part B payer in four states, announced on Jan. 26 that it had recently audited claims for code 99310 (Subsequent nursing facility care, per day), and found that only 13 percent of these claims were billed correctly.

Based on the outcome of the audit, NGS said that it “will be implementing a prepay edit for CPT code 99310.”

Know these quick facts before you report this nursing facility care code in the future.

1. Check documentation for comprehensive interval history, comprehensive exam, and/or highcomplexity medical decision-making. CPT requires documentation of at least two of these criteria before you can bill 99310.

“I imagine that doctors are habitually visiting all their nursing home patients at one time and not documenting enough to meet the level-three code,” suggests Crystal S. Reeves, CPC, CPC-H with The Coker Group in Alpharetta, Ga. Indeed, the NGS report indicates that “most errors occurred because the services were billed at a higher level than was substantiated by the documentation.”

2. If you’re coding based on time, be sure to document the pertinent details.

Ever since 2008, CPT has published average time spent on the nursing facility codes, allowing you to report them based on time. However, in order for you to bill these visits based on counseling and coordination of care time, the patient must be present during the visit, and you must document the amount of time spent in counseling.

“Documentation must include time spent face-to-face (or on the floor/unit) counseling and/or coordinating care, as well as the total time of the encounter,” says Wendy Owens-Frierson, CHM, CHI, CPC with PRSS, Inc. in Miami, Fla.

Resource: To read the results from the NGS audit, go here.

Look for an in-depth article about time-based E/M coding in next week’s Part B Insider. Download 2 FREE sample issues here.

Available on CD: The biggest mistakes that coders make with nursing facility E/M codes.

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