Coding Challenge

Pay Attention to Button TURP Technique

Be careful — the similarity to a laser procedure may deceive you.

Question: My urologist is performing a new procedure called a “button TURP.” I thought 52601 or 53852 might be correct, but now I’m thinking an unlisted procedure code may be more appropriate. What code should I use for this procedure?

California Subscriber

Answer: You should report 52601 (Transurethral electrosurgical resection of prostate, including control of postoperative bleeding, complete [vasectomy, meatotomy, cystourethroscopy, urethral calibration and/or dilation, and internal urethrotomy are included]) for the button transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) procedure.
Why: The button TURP is a bipolar...

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May 13, 2010
Coder's Cranium / Medicare / Oig

Nonphysician Providers and Incident-To: Your Coding Questions Answered

Here’s why you should keep your physicians’ work schedules on file. Correctly billing your nonphysician practitioners (NPPs) incident-to services means the difference between 85 and 100 percent reimbursement. But if you bill incident-to haphazardly, you’re just waving a red flag at auditors. And those auditors are jonesin’ to find incident to billing problems. Just check out this [...] Related articles:

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October 25, 2009