Pharmacy Question for the Week of December 24, 2018

Question:

We are having trouble determining how to report HCPCS Level II code J0171 (injection, adrenalin, epinephrine, 0.1 mg). Can you provide guidance?

Answer:

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, a 1 ml ampule of adrenalin/epinephrine contains 1.0 mg of adrenalin/epinephrine in a 1:1,000 solution. However, a 10 ml prefilled syringe with a 1:10,000 solution of adrenalin/epinephrine also contains only 1.0 mg of adrenalin/epinephrine. Thus a physician must recognize that 10 units of service for HCPCS code J0171 correspond to a 1 ml ampule or 10 ml of a prefilled syringe (1:10,000 (0.1 mg/ml) solution).