Question:
May we bill separately for duplicative testing on the same bone marrow biopsy and bone marrow aspirate specimens?
Answer:
It is common for bone marrow aspirate to be submitted to the cytopathology department for flow-cytometry analysis with additional material being submitted to histology for IHC stains. However, It is not appropriate to bill separately for duplicative testing on the same or similar specimens. The NCCI policy manual has defined bone marrow biopsy and bone marrow aspirate as the same or similar specimen; therefore, it would not be appropriate to append a modifier if testing in the separate departments or laboratories is for the same antibody.
This question was answered in our Coding Essentials for Laboratories. For more hot topics relating to laboratory services, please visit our store or call us at 1.800.252.1578, ext. 2.
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