Stains – Special Or Not?

Case Scenario: The laboratory received a bone marrow specimen and the pathologist performed a May-Grunwald-Giemsa stain on the specimen.

Q: Can the pathologist code CPT^® 88313 for this service?

A: No, the pathologist should not report CPT^® 88313 – special stain, Group II for the May-Grunwald-Giemsa stain for bone marrow specimens. This particular stain is not considered a special stain when done on bone marrow specimens. On these specimens, the Wright stain or the May-Grunwald-Giemsa stain is a default-type stain that is used to enhance cytologic detail for the routine morphologic specimen evaluation. Just as you would not report a special stain for hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) used as the basic stain on many tissue specimens, you should not report a special stain code that is used on a specimen when the stain is considered routine for that given specimen, here, the bone marrow specimens.

Rick Oliver, CHCO, CPC, MT(ASCP)

Director of Compliance - Pathology

McKesson Revenue Management Solutions

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Coding Q & As are the interpretation or explanation of McKesson (RMS) and not necessarily the AMA’s and not necessarily the position an agency checking the accuracy of coding would adopt. This publication is not intended to constitute legal, accounting, financial, investment or other professional advice. Any coding or business decisions should be made in consultation with your legal, professional and/or accounting advisors.