Due to current CDC Covid-19 guidelines, experts recommend the use of personal protective equipment when seeing patients. This is particularly important during procedures likely to generate splashing of body fluids. This includes eye protection (goggles, protective eyewear, or a full-face shield), gowns or protective clothing, gloves, surgical masks, and an N95 respirator during aerosol-generating procedures.
All of this necessary equipment will increase the cost of each patient visit, which is why it is so important to properly bill for additional PPE so providers won’t have to cover the expenses unnecessarily.
According to the American Dental Association, third party payers should:
- adjust the maximum allowable fees for all procedures; or,
- allow a standard fee per date of service per patient to accommodate the rising costs of PPE.
Offices can use the CDT code D1999 for billing with this narrative: "D1999 is to aid in covering the cost for additional PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) required during Covid-19 Pandemic."
To easily differentiate from other instances where offices may have used the D1999 code, you can create a "D1999,1" code in DentiMax, call it "Additional PPE". The ",1" suffix will not display on the claim form, and have a pre-set dollar amount so you are not having to edit the D1999 code every time you want to bill the D1999 for PPE.
Dentists can use this code once per patient visit/claim to attempt to cover the cost of additional PPE.
The ADA also recommends that providers establish a policy to keep track of the additional PPE used in each patient visit. A standard and consistent fee is recommended, and when the fee changes based on a particular procedure, dentists can specify so in the patient’s record.
