CCI 16.3 to Reserve Edits Involving Vestibular Testing

Correct Coding Initiative (CCI) came down hard on practitioners who carry out vestibular testing; however a new correction.

CCI coding , CCI codes, CCI 16.3, 2010 CPT manual, Medical Coding

From october 1, you will be able to use a modifier to separate these services when they are carried out as distinct procedural services.

Earlier, the Correct Coding Initiative (CCI) came down hard on practitioners who carry out vestibular testing; however a new correction, with effect from October 1 this year should ease the restrictions and aid the otolaryngology practices that report these services.

The problem: Presently, CCI codes restrict practices from reporting 92541, 92542, 92544, and 92545 individually if three or less of the tests are carried out.

The solution: With effect from October 1, if two or three of these codes are reported for the same date of service (DOS) by the same provider for the same beneficiary, an NCCI-associated modifier may be used to bypass the NCCI edits.

Watch out for changes to vestibular testing descriptors

The root of the CCI problem started when the 2010 CPT manual was published, including new code 92540 and the subsequent codes following it, which make up the individual components of 92540. The clarification that resulted in the NCCI edits being lifted should be covered in the upcoming versions of the manual.

For the latest CCI codes(http://www.supercoder.com/coding-tools/cci-edits-checker/), sign up for a one-stop medical coding website. When you register yourself for one, you'll get the latest updates pertaining to these CCI codes. You'll also have access to a CCI coding tool that will offer you a fast solution to keep your claims compliant with NCCI. The tool will tell you if CCI bundles a code combination and if the edit allows a modifier.