Medical Coding Training — Pathology and Lab Panels

Medical Coding Training — Pathology and Lab Panels http://www.cco.us/ceu-pathology-laboratory-on-demand-class-yt

Laureen: This one is mine:

Q: Path & lab was not my best friend on the CPC exam. Can you guys focus a bit on that part of the CPT next month? Thanks in advance.

A: What I want to do is do a little bit on panels. For those who have the Blitz they will be familiar with this…

Laureen: Organ or Disease-Oriented Panels — By the way, if you’ve not taken any of our courses, anything having to do with CPT, my manual we use a technique called bubbling and highlighting so that’s where all these notes you’ll see on my manual is all about. You’re like, “What is all that writing?”

If we look at this first panel, 80047, this is your basic metabolic panel. What it is, it’s just a space-saving convention because our 1500 forms is only six slots for procedure codes. This panel is comprised of these 8 individual tests. You’ve got the calcium (82330), etc.; so all 8 of these tests when you put 80047 it’s the same thing as if you listed all 8 of these separately. But you’re not allowed to list them separately, it’s not a choice, if a panel exists you are to use that code so you’re not allowed to unbundle or explode the codes.

Now if you have all but one because the physician doesn’t have to do all 8 tests, if they only want all but the urea nitrogen then you’d have to list those 7 tests individually, so it’s still up to the physician. But these are common panels, they are commonly ordered together so it just makes it easier.

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