V codes correspond with descriptive, generic, preventive, ancillary, or required medical services and should be billed accordingly.
Descriptive V Codes
For V codes that provide descriptive information as the reason for the patient visit, you may designate
that description as the primary diagnosis. An example of a descriptive V code includes a routine infant
or child health visit, which is designated as V20.2.
Generic V Codes
For generic non-payable services, such as lab, radiology, or pre-op, a generic V code should
not be used as a primary diagnosis. Rather, the underlying medical condition should be listed as
the primary diagnosis for these ancillary services.
Preventive V Codes
For preventive services, a V code that describes a personal or family history of a medical condition
is sufficient as a primary diagnosis without the need for additional diagnostic information.
Examples are a mammography, a Pap smear, or a fecal occult blood screening.
Quite informative but I still don't understand. Is this really how medical billing and coding are complicated?
It's hard for me to understand because I am not into this kind of stuff. Lucky for us to have people who are knowledgeable with medical bills. Just hope that they don't outwit us. 🙂