Coding Question on a Diagnosis

Question:

What is Actinic Keratosis and what procedure is used to treat this condition?

Answer:

Actinic Keratoses is an extremely common dermatological condition among the elderly. It is suspected to be a pre-malignant condition. The condition presents as rough, sometimes red, scaly patches on the skin, typically where there has been exposure from the sun. Common areas are the face, scalp, neck, ears, forearms, and hands. While they are mostly benign lesions, most squamous cell carcinomas begin as actinic keratoses, making it preferable to remove or destroy them before it can progress into malignancy. Treatment for Actinic Keratoses is cryotherapy which is a destruction.

The procedure to destroy or remove actinic keratoses are generally covered by Medicare and commercial payers. The CPT code to report actinic keratosis destruction is 17000 for the first lesion, 17003 for the second through 14th lesions (each lesion) and 17004 for 15 lesions or more and is reported only once. The diagnosis code for Actinic Keratosis is L57.0.

*This response is based on the best information available as of 2/1/24.