Cardiology Question for the Week of July 2, 2018

Question:

If a patient is brought to the cardiac cath lab and only bypass grafts were visualized (for example, SVG [saphenous vein graft] to the right coronary artery [RCA], and SVG to the circumflex) with no native coronary arteries being injected or imaged, what is the appropriate CPT^® procedure to code/charge?

Answer:

According to advice from the American College of Cardiology (ACC), when native coronaries and grafts are studied, the following may be the appropriate codes:

• If only native coronaries and grafts: 93455
• If native coronaries, grafts, and right heart cath: 93457
• If native coronaries, grafts and left heart cath: 93459
• If native coronaries, grafts, right heart cath, and left heart cath: 93461.

There is no code for only coronary graft angiography. Because the procedure performed is less than what the code descriptor requires, report the appropriate code from the choices above that includes native coronary angiography and add modifier -52 (reduced services).

CPT^® is a registered trademark of the American Medical Association.

This question was answered in the 2018 edition of Peripheral & Cardiology Coder. For more hot topics relating to cardiology services, please view our store, or call us at 1.800.252.1578 ext. 2.