Plethora of New Procedure Codes Unveiled with ICD-10-PCS Update

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released 41 new procedure codes, which are effective April 1, 2024. The new codes were posted Dec. 19, 2023.

The new procedure codes include the following:

• Insertion of radioactive element, Palladium-103 collagen implant into brain;
• Destruction of conduction mechanism using irreversible electroporation;
• Resection of spleen, percutaneous, hand-assisted;
• Dilation of nasopharynx (various approaches);
• Resection/Excision, right large intestine, percutaneous endoscopic approach, hand-assisted;
• Resection/Excision, left large intestine, percutaneous endoscopic approach, hand-assisted;
• Resection/Excision, appendix, percutaneous endoscopic, hand-assisted;
• Resection/Excision, transverse colon, percutaneous endoscopic, hand-assisted;
• Resection/Excision, descending colon, percutaneous endoscopic, hand-assisted;
• Resection/Excision, sigmoid colon, percutaneous endoscopic, hand-assisted;
• Transfer, omentum to various locations, open approach;
• Resection/Excision, liver, percutaneous endoscopic, hand-assisted;
• Resection/Excision, right lobe liver, percutaneous endoscopic, hand-assisted;
• Resection/Excision, left lobe liver, percutaneous endoscopic, hand-assisted;
• Resection/Excision, pancreas, percutaneous endoscopic, hand-assisted;
• Resection, gallbladder, percutaneous endoscopic, hand-assisted;
• Resection, right kidney, percutaneous endoscopic, hand-assisted;
• Resection, left kidney, percutaneous endoscopic, hand-assisted;
• Resection, bilateral kidneys, percutaneous endoscopic, hand-assisted;
• Introduction of other thrombolytic into pleural cavity, percutaneous;
• Introduction of talquetamab into subcutaneous tissue, percutaneous, New Technology Group 9; and
• Monitoring of interstitial fluid volume, sub-epidermal moisture using electrical biocapacitance, external, New Technology Group 9.

Most of the changes are updates to the Medical & Surgical Section, Gastrointestinal Body System, with the approach of “percutaneous endoscopic” and qualifier of “hand-assisted.” Please note that the Mental Health Section had a reduction of two codes.

The updates to the ICD-10-PCS codes will have the following impact to each ICD-10-PCS Section:

The ICD-10-PCS guidelines were also updated with this release. Guideline D.1a (Brachytherapy) was revised to include another exception to the guideline. The new exception is the insertion of Palladium-103 brachytherapy seeds embedded in a collagen matrix to the treatment site after resection of a brain tumor.

The updates are available on the CMS website. The link for the website can be found below. The conversion file for ICD-10-PCS is also available.

The updates have been released early so that vendors can incorporate the new codes for the April 1 effective date. It is recommended to become familiar with the changes, make any updates to your facility-specific coding guidelines (if needed), and train the coders.

Programming note:

Listen to Laurie Johnson report this story live today during Talk Ten Tuesdays with Chuck Buck and Dr. Erica Remer, 10 Eastern.

Resources:

https://www.cms.gov/medicare/coding-billing/icd-10-codes/2024-icd-10-pcs