Respiratory Question for the Week of June 18, 2018

Question:

Our facility has assigned code 94150 (vital capacity, total) to line items described as “peak flow.” Is this appropriate under Medicare?

Answer:

In the 2001 CPT Companion, the American Medical Association (AMA) stated that there is not a separate listing in CPT^® for reporting peak flow. The Principles of CPT Coding manual published by the AMA, in 1999 states, “There is no separate code in CPT for reporting the performance of peak flow rate measurement. When performed, peak flow rate is an inherent part of the evaluation and management examination and is not separately reported.”

If you have defined this code on the chargemaster as peak flow, consider inactivating the line item or remove the CPT code and track the procedure for “statistics only.” The peak flow meter is considered a routine supply that should be bundled into the cost of the procedure.

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

This question was answered in the 2018 edition of our Coding Essentials for RT/Pulmonary Function. For more hot topics relating to respiratory therapy services, please view our store, or call us at 1.800.252.1578 ext. 2.