NOTE: All in-article links open in a new tab.

Coding Outpatient Surgery without the Pathology Report

Published on 

Wednesday, July 14, 2021

 | FAQ 
 | Outpatient Services 
Question

Is it appropriate for hospitals to code and submit an outpatient surgery claim before the pathology report is available? At our hospital we do a lot of skin excisions, but we code the record and bill the claim before we have the pathology report. Therefore, there are times when the malignant skin cancers are not reported on the claim since we do not know about it at the time of coding.

Answer

Yes, it is appropriate / allowed for hospitals to code and submit a claim before the pathology report is available to the coder for review. It is up to the individual hospital to determine this process. For additional discussion, refer to Coding Clinic, 1st quarter 2017, page 15.

Article Author: Jeffery Gordon, RN, MSN, CCA, COC
Jeffery Gordon, RN, MSN, CCA, COC, is the Manager of Outpatient Medical Review at Medical Management Plus, Inc. Jeff has over thirty-five years of experience in healthcare including Critical Care, Infection Control, Quality Assurance, Medical Necessity, Outpatient Coding, Medicare Claims data analysis and Medical Record review.

This material was compiled to share information.  MMP, Inc. is not offering legal advice. Every reasonable effort has been taken to ensure the information is accurate and useful.