Question:
Why is diagnostic drug administration performed?
Answer:
Diagnostic drug administration is performed to obtain information that helps to assess a medical condition, identify a disease, or determine the nature and severity of an ailment or injury. Diagnostic drug administration includes but is not limited to evocative/suppression testing, including ACTH for determination of adrenal insufficiency. According to the NCCI Policy Manual, Chapter X—Pathology and Laboratory Services, the administration of the evocative or suppressive agent is billable in the physician office setting and the hospital setting. A change in the instruction for hospitals was included in the October 2009 update to this NCCI policy. Prior versions of the policy instructed that when the evocative or suppressive agent was administered by ancillary personnel in the hospital the infusion was not separately billable.