Can we use CPT code 90784 for coding a port flush Heparin?
Can we use CPT code 90784 for coding a port flush Heparin, since it is an intravenous (IV) push medication? If not, is there any other code for this procedure? This flush is not at the initial time of IV access nor in conjunction with giving any IV medication. It is to maintain patency between times of other access.
CPT code 90784 (therapeutic, prophylactic, or diagnostic infection) should not be used for coding a port flush. There is no CPT code for a port flush. Some hospitals have developed internal protocols and documentation protocols for assessing patients arriving for port flushes and billing a low-level E/M code for this service. Otherwise, it is not a reimbursable procedure under Medicare.
Code 90784, currently used for IV push of nonchemotherapy drugs, is replaced in 2005 by the following two codes that separately identify the initial and additional nonchemotherapy IV push: G0353, “Therapeutic or diagnostic injection (specify substance or drug); intravenous push, single or initial substance/drug”
