How to Code Endoscopic Procedures
When billing medical expenses to an insurance company or ordering procedures at a hospital, all procedures must be coded. The current procedural terminology, or CPT, code used on medical forms informs the insurance company or doctors exactly what procedures were performed, or will be performed, on a patient. Most medical procedure codes are looked up by individual category, but some procedures, such as endoscopic procedures, may fall under more than one category.
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Instructions
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Find the endoscopic procedure's name on the patient's forms or in the patient's chart. The name of the procedure, as written by a doctor or nurse, provides a starting point for finding the procedure's code.
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Locate a CPT coding book. If you work in a medical office, a CPT coding book should be available for you. If no book is available, or if your book is outdated, up-to-date CPT codes can be found on a variety of websites, including Find-A-Code, American Medical Association Bookstore or ICD9 CM (see Resources.)
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Look the procedure up by name. In a CPT coding book, procedure names are listed alphabetically in the index at the back of the book. On websites, such as Find-A-Code and ICD9 CM, choose the "Procedures" category to look in and type the name of the procedure as it is listed in the patient's paperwork into the search box on the page to search for the code.
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Browse the CPT code book or website by category if you did not find the procedure by name. Most CPT books have tabs that divide procedures by medical category, while websites list categories and provide links. Look for the "Endoscopy" category in the book. If there is no "Endoscopy" category, look under "Surgery" or "Surgical," which many endoscopic procedures fall under, especially if anesthesia was used during the procedure, which will be listed along with the procedure on the patient's medical forms. The name of the procedure may be close to, but not exactly the same as, what is written on the patient's form.
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Write the code down on the patient's form in the box that is labeled "CPT Code" by the procedure name. This is the box where insurance companies and other medical professionals will look to determine what was performed.
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