Can I bill for a port flush if I am also billing for drug administration?"

That's a typical question received by ASCO's Coding & Reimbursement Service, the online assistance service offered free to members and their staff.

It's User-Friendly

Unlike those unhappy online experiences you may have had using the website of your phone company, bank, or Internet provider, the Coding & Reimbursement Service does not send you to a series of new Web pages so that you can answer your own question. Nor does it present a menu of questions and ask you to choose the one closest to your own. And it definitely does not surprise you with a service fee after you click on "submit."

Au contraire! On the Coding & Reimbursement site, you can ask your entire question in a free-text box. Within 3 to 5 days, the answer-supplied by a real person, not a computer database-will arrive in your e-mail inbox.

"We want to ease the burden for our members," says Julia E. Tomkins, Program Manager in the Cancer Policy and Clinical Affairs Department at ASCO. "It's so difficult for physicians to keep abreast of all the clinical, business, and Medicare changes-we are trying to be the shortcut for them," Tomkins says. Now there's a customer-service attitude.

Knowledgeable Answers

The ASCO staff continually monitor Medicare changes. In addition to reading Medicare rules and published updates, Tomkins attends the annual meeting of the AMA's CPT Editorial Panel. She is the designated staff for oncology for the AMA's CPT Advisory Committee, a group of physicians appointed by major specialty societies to serve as a resource to the CPT Editorial Panel, which is responsible for any revisions, deletions, and additions to the CPT code set.

"I learn a lot about Medicare coverage rules, guidelines, and initiatives," she says. "In addition, the CPT meetings give me insight into answering questions people have."

People using the Coding & Reimbursement Service receive more than just the answer to their coding or coverage question. Typically ASCO also provides the Medicare documentation that explains and supports it.

Once in a while the staff can't answer a question, Tomkins says. "In those cases, we try to give people everything we can to help. Usually we will provide a resource or refer them to their local Medicare contractor to find the answer."
Still wondering if you can bill for a port flush if you are also billing for drug administration? The answer is no, Tomkins says. Naturally, she refers to language from the CPT manual and explains: "Flush at the conclusion of an infusion is considered part of the infusion or injection service and therefore is not reported as an individual service itself." ■

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