Blog/ Hospital billing
How do you know which access route type is correct?
Discover the CBHPM valuation rules for procedures through single or multiple incisions and understand how the fifty or seventy percent additions to physician fees apply depending on the anatomical region addressed in surgery
- By
- Rivio, Editorial team
- Published
- Reading time
- 2 minutes
When performing two procedures on a patient (acupuncture 31601014 and electrostimulation 31602185), which access route is correct: single, different or same route?
Rivio answers
Access routes are the paths that allow the surgeon to reach the region or organ to perform surgery. This is done through an anatomical cavity or an incision and is always linked to a services or admission form.
Medical and surgical acts are valued based on the number of access routes used. Access routes are reported in outpatient care, inpatient admissions and urgent care.
Types of access routes
Access routes can be classified as:
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U ‑ Single;
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M - Same route;
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D - Different routes.
Acupuncture (31601014) and Transcutaneous Electrical Stimulation (31602185) are performed through the same route.
When multiple organs, regions or joint structures are to be addressed through the same access route, the surgery’s tier is defined by the procedure with the highest tier performed through that route. To this tier, 50% of the amount set for each of the other medical acts performed is added, provided there is no specific code covering the set of procedures.
Different access routes
When more than one intervention is performed through different access routes, the equivalent of 70% of the tier of each of the other acts performed must be added to the tier of the surgery considered the main one.
