Report actinic keratosis and seborrheic keratosis with 17000-17004 codes?

Question:

If a patient presents to the office with both AKs and SKs. The doctor destroys 11 AKs and 5 SKs. Are these all reported with 17000-17004 codes?

Answer:

No. The actinic keratosis (AKs) are considered premalignant and are reported using codes 17000-17004. The seborrheic keratosis (SKs) are considered benign and are reported using codes 17110-17111. In your case, the following codes should be reported:

17110 Destruction of benign lesions other than skin tags or cutaneous vascular proliferative lesions; up to 14 lesions

17000-59 Destruction premalignant lesions; first lesion

17003 X 10 Destruction premalignant lesions; second through 14 lesions, each

Make sure that you pay attention to the quantities in the code descriptors so that the proper units are billed. There is a CCI edit between 17110 and 17000 so modifier 59 (or XS) would need to be appended to 17000 to ensure proper adjudication. Hope this helps.

*This response is based on the best information available as of 06/22/17.