Cpt code for Endotracheal Intubation

There is no CPT code for elective endotracheal intubation. Airway access is necessary for general anesthesia and is not separately reportable. CPT code 31500 describes an emergency endotracheal intubation and should not be reported for elective endotracheal intubation. Visualization of the airway is a component part of an endotracheal intubation, and CPT codes describing procedures that visualize the airway (e.g., nasal endoscopy, laryngoscopy, bronchoscopy) should not be reported with an endotracheal intubation.  These CPT codes describe diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopies, and it is a misuse of these codes to report visualization of the airway for endotracheal intubation. 

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