cpt 31500

(2023) CPT Code For Endotracheal Intubation

CPT 31500 describes an emergency endotracheal intubation and should not be reported for elective endotracheal intubation.

The official description of CPT code 31500 is: “Intubation, endotracheal, emergency procedure”

Visualization of the airway is a part of endotracheal intubation, and CPT codes describing procedures that visualize the airway (e.g., nasal endoscopy, laryngoscopy, bronchoscopy) should not be reported with 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. 

There is no CPT code for elective endotracheal intubation. Airway access is necessary for general anesthesia and is not separately reportable.

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