Clinic A Decides To Use NP Aspirates For COVID-19 Testing
Clinic A has been struggling with sending their patients for COVID-19 testing and the concerns for false negative tests due to use of swabs and incorrect technique in the drive-up at the local system hospital. Their own patients were requesting testing due to their exposure history and the clinic had a need to screen all of their pre-op patients. They elected to start testing their own patients using proper PPE and using Nasopharyngeal Aspirates, which gives better sensitivities for all viral pathogens vs. a swab. This was done with a quick 5 minute visit in a designated room in a supine position. N-Pak was used for the specimen collection. Patient was asked to extend their head and hold breath and the quick 3 second aspiration was performed. A level 1 E and M code was used for the visit and CPT Code 31720-52 was used for the NP Aspirate. The specimen was sent to their usual reference lab with a 3 day turn-around time.
Patient’s Experience Better With NP Aspirate & Clinic Getting Paid vs. Swab
The patients who had previous testing experience with NP Swabs in the drive-thru consistently expressed how much less uncomfortable the NP Aspirate was for them. The clinic was able to generate the revenue of not only the E and M for that day’s visit, but also for their NP Aspirate procedure averaging $52.31 /patient visit. This turned into a win-win for the patient and clinic with improved viral sensitivities/testing confidence, improved patient comfort/satisfaction and improved clinic revenue/reimbursement
- 05/15/2020 – Present
- 42 Times Submitted
- 100% success rate to date
- Reimbursement Range: $19.85 – $102.83
- Reimbursements Average: $52.31 / Test
SEE HOW TO PROPERLY PERFORM A NASOPHARYNGEAL ASPIRATE FOR COVID-19
