Which modifier should be used to indicate a discontinued outpatient procedure prior to anesthesia administration?

• A. -53
• B. -73
• C. -74
• D. -52

Answer: (B)

In outpatient coding, modifiers convey special circumstances that affect billing. When a planned outpatient procedure is started but is canceled before anesthesia is given, you use the modifier that specifically indicates pre-anesthesia discontinuation. This modifier shows that no anesthesia was administered and the procedure did not proceed beyond the initial stage, so there are no anesthesia charges.

The exact modifier to use in this scenario is the one for discontinuing an outpatient procedure prior to anesthesia administration. It communicates precisely that the cancellation happened before anesthesia was started. If anesthesia had already been administered before the procedure was halted, a different modifier would apply to indicate discontinuation after anesthesia. A general discontinued procedure modifier is not as precise for this pre-anesthesia cancellation, and a reduced-services modifier is used for performing only part of a service, not for canceling the entire procedure.