Q&A Storage for frozen eggs

[Gail13]

Hi i would like to know if a patient had invitro insemination that had her egg frozen for a few months do we have to use the code 89342 which says Storage per year eventhough she froze it for less than a few months? thanks

 

[Ruth Sheets]

CPT code 89342 is for embryos. You mentioned storage of eggs, which would be 89346. I would think you should use modifier 52 and submit documentation for the length of storage time.

This article (link below) says that the storage for less than a year can be pro-rated for these codes. The article is from the Coding Committee of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine.
http://www.asrm.org/uploadedFiles/ASRM_Content/News_and_Publications/Practice_Guidelines/Technical_Bulletins/Correct_coding(1).pdf

A Google Search led me to their Coding Corner: http://www.asrm.org/coding/ Check it out!

 

[Alicia Scott]

Hey Ruth, didn't we cover this in one of the webinars? I seem to remember it had been a question before.

 

[Gail13]

sorry i meant embryo so heres the question cryopreservation with storage of embryo for a few months , do we use 89258
and 89342 or 89258 alone ?
I was hoping that this section of reproductive medicine would have been covered in the Blitz videos.

 

[Ruth Sheets]

89258 Cryopreservation embryo(s) [freezing the embryo]
89342 Storage (per year) embryo(s) [the embryo already frozen; it is simply being stored]

What was done? The freezing or just the storing or both?

 

[Ruth Sheets]

Hey Ruth, didn't we cover this in one of the webinars? I seem to remember it had been a question before.

It may have been before I was involved with the webinars -- I can't find it.

 

[Gail13]

Both was done cryopreservation and storage .

 

[Ruth Sheets]

Then you need both codes.

 

[Gail13]

thanks