Importance of Determining Indication for Colonoscopy: Implications for Practice and Policy

Precise diagnostic coding of procedures is of critical importance for accurate billing, determination of patient co-pays and deductibles, retrospective analysis of results, and development of performance metrics. For example, whether a colonoscopy is coded as diagnostic or therapeutic, screening or surveillance has important implications for determining patient's personal cost, deriving an endoscopists' adenoma detection rate and understanding appropriate use of the procedure. In this month's Practice Management: The Road Ahead article, Dr. Amit G. Singal and colleagues help us wade through the terminology and implications of procedural coding. As more refined electronic reporting systems are developed, we hope that standardization of terminology becomes more robust. Only with a more standardized coding and indication documentation can we hope to derive accurate population level information.