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Question: I鈥檓 new to coding. When is it appropriate to append modifier 62?

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Answer: Modifier 62 (Two surgeons) applies to situations involving co-surgeons.

In order to apply modifier 62, it is essential that your doctor collaborated with another surgeon, and that both are recognized as primary surgeons or co-surgeons. After verifying that your doctor was indeed a main co-surgeon, it is necessary to ensure that your doctor and the other surgeon jointly performed a procedure that is represented by a single CPT^庐 procedure code.

For Medicare, it鈥檚 necessary that each surgeon belongs to a distinct specialty; for instance, a collaboration between a podiatrist and a general surgeon. However, for non-Medicare carriers, the co-surgeons can be from the same specialty, typically with differing surgical skills.

鈥淲hen two surgeons work together as primary surgeons performing distinct part(s) of a procedure, each surgeon should report his/her distinct operative work by adding modifier 62 to the procedure code and any associate add-on code(s) for that procedure as long as both surgeons continue to work together as primary surgeons,鈥� according to CPT^庐. 鈥淓ach surgeon should report the co-surgery once using the same procedure code.鈥�

Final thought: Modifier 62 applies for only one primary procedure and its related add-on codes for each surgeon.

Lindsey Bush, BA, MA, CPC, Development Editor, AAPC