Coding News
The AMA CPT Editorial Panel recently passed two actions of interest to psychiatrists. At APA's request, the Editorial Panel deleted CPT code 90871 (ECT, multiple seizure). All visits for ECT should now be coded with 90870.
The panel also approved wording relating to the use of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) for the care of patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD). VNS therapy, which was originally approved only for the treatment of epilepsy, has recently received FDA approval as a treatment for TRD. Psychiatrists performing this type of therapy are directed to use the appropriate codes found in the neurology subsection of the CPT manual's medicine section. These codes are for the analysis and programming of the neurostimulators used for VNS therapy and include CPT codes 95970, 95974, and 95975.
