Question

If an additional procedure is performed without the assistance of the co-surgeon, it should be reported without modifier 62. If an additional procedure required co-surgeons, both surgeons should report the code on their respective claims with modifier 62. If an additional procedure required one co-surgeon to only assist the other, both surgeons report the same code. The main surgeon does not utilize a modifier. The assistant surgeon reports the procedure code with modifier:

Option 1: 80

Option 2: 81

Option 3: 62

Option 4: 40

Answer 1

When an additional procedure is performed without the assistance of the co-surgeon, it should be reported without modifier 62. However, if the procedure requires co-surgeons, both surgeons should report the code on their respective claims with modifier 62. If one co-surgeon only assists the other, both surgeons report the same code.

Step-by-step explanation:

The subject of this question is Medicine. The question pertains to the reporting of additional procedures performed by co-surgeons in medical coding.

When an additional procedure is performed without the assistance of the co-surgeon, it should be reported without modifier 62. However, if an additional procedure requires co-surgeons, both surgeons should report the code on their respective claims with modifier 62. If one co-surgeon only assists the other, both surgeons report the same code. In this case, the main surgeon does not utilize a modifier, while the assistant surgeon reports the procedure code with modifier 80.

Therefore, the correct option is Option 1: 80.