6. The physician should make no change in the number of doses for which he/she bills even if the patient’s doses are adjusted. The number of doses anticipated at the time of the antigen preparation is the number of doses that should be billed. If the patient actually receives more doses than originally planned (due to a decrease in the amount of antigen administered during treatment) or fewer doses (due to an increase in the amount of antigen administered), no change should be made in the billing.
7. When a venom regimen requires that antigens be mixed from more than one vial for administration and, due to a dose adjustment of one of the antigens, one vial is depleted before the other, the physician may bill for “catch-up” doses of the short antigen. This must be done in a manner that synchronizes the preparation back to the highest venom code possible in the shortest amount of time. To catch up, the physician would bill only the amount of the depleted vial needed to catch-up with the other vials. This will permit the physician to get back to preparing the full number of venoms at one time and billing the doses of the “cheaper” higher venom codes. Use of a code below the venom treatment number for the particular patient should occur only for the purpose of “catching up”
8. A visit to an allergist, which yields a diagnosis of specific allergy sensitivity but does not include immunotherapy, should be coded according to the level of care rendered.
9. Use CPT procedure code 95180 (rapid desensitization) when sensitivity to a drug has been established and treatment with the drug is essential. This procedure will also require frequent monitoring and skin testing. The number of hours involved in desensitization must be reported in the unit’s field.
10. Allergy Shots and Visit Services on Same Day Effective for services provided on or after January 1, 1995, visits may not be paid with allergy injection services 95115 through 95199 unless the visit represents another separately identifiable service. Modifier code -25 is used with the visit code to report the patient’s condition required a significant, separately identifiable visit service above and beyond the allergen immunotherapy service provided.
11. Place of Service CPT procedure codes 95115, 95117 and 95144 are payable only in an office setting (11). CPT procedure codes 95145-95170 are payable in the office (11) and in a hospital outpatient department (22). These codes are also payable in a skilled nursing facility (31), but only if the physician is present. CPT procedure codes 95060, 95065, 95180 are payable in office and hospital settings (21, 22, 23).
