Sara et al- This seems to be a common question for the U.S. due to the threatened changes in billing practice by Medicare. My understanding of the intend, which may not parallel practice by the regional medicare carriers (payors), is that if the test is an absolute count (T cells, B cells, stem cells, NK cells, etc.) the codes 88184 and 88185 are not to be used. The corollary is that if it is a leukemia/lymphoma, PNH, MDS, etc work-up, the only the 88184, 88185, and related physician codes of 88186, 88187, and 88188 are to be used. These sets of codes are not intended to be mixed and matched. It is not too late to check out the clinical cytometry website at www.cytometry.org for more information and model letters of protest to send to your congressional representatives, CMS, and to enlist the support of your clinical colleagues. It is not over until it is over. Bruce H. Davis, M.D. Trillium Diagnostics, LLC c/o Maine Medical Center Research Institute 81 Research Drive Scarborough, Maine 04074 USA PHONE: 207-885-8113 FAX: 207-885-8110 Email: davisb@mmc.org >>> "Markestad, Sara" <SMarkestad@sjha.org> 12/09/04 17:45 PM >>> Hello Flowers! My question concerning the additional markers. 1: For our CD4/CD8 Panel we do the following markers: CD3,CD19,CD4,CD8,CD45 Our question is can we bill the following codes for this panel 86064 - for B cell total (CD19) 86359 - for T cell total (CD3) 86360 - for CD8 absolutes and ratio 86361 - for CD4 absolute count 88185 - CD45 2. For our Leukemia and Lymphoma Panel Can we bill this way: 86064 - for B cell total (CD19) 86359 - for T cell Total (CD3) 86379 - for NK cells (CD56) 88184 - for our first marker 88185 - for all other markers that are done in the panel or do we have to just use 88184 and 88185 for all makers in a Leukemia/Lymphoma Panel. 3. The CD34 stem cell CPT is that for those labs that do Bone Marrow Transplant. We use it in our L/L Panel but we didn't think that we could bill this antibody 86587 because we don't do transplants here just evaluations. Any help with these questions would be greatly appreciated. Sara Markestad, MT (ASCP) St. Joseph's Hospital of Atlanta 404-851-7744 Confidentiality Notice ** The information contained in this message may be privileged and is confidential information intended for the use of the addressee listed above. If you are neither the intended recipient nor the employee or agent responsible for delivering this message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or the taking of any action in reliance on the contents of this information is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately by replying to the message and deleting it from your computer. Thank you. Saint Josephs Health System, Inc.Received on Fri Dec 10 16:18:00 2004
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