Question

question 10

a cardiac patient must take digoxin to treat his atrial fibrillation (afib). this condition has been controlled for several years but the patient now presents to his physician with new complaints of irregular heartbeats. the physician orders a total digoxin study to determine the total level of digoxin in order to measure the drugs efficacy in treating his afib. what cpt® code is reported?

80299
82542
80162
80163

Explanation:

Identify the ordered laboratory test

The physician orders a "total digoxin study" to measure the level of digoxin in the patient's system for therapeutic drug monitoring.

Match the procedure to the CPT code

• CPT code 80162 is designated for "Digoxin; total".
• CPT code 80163 is designated for "Digoxin; free".
• CPT code 82542 is for column chromatography/mass spectrometry.
• CPT code 80299 is for quantitation of therapeutic drug, not elsewhere specified.

Select the correct option

Since the physician specifically ordered a total digoxin study, the correct CPT code is 80162.

Answer:

• 80299
• 82542
• 80162 (Correct answer)
• 80163