CPT 87086: Urine Culture, Quantitative Colony Count
Culture, bacterial; quantitative colony count, urine. The standard culture for diagnosing urinary tract infections with colony count to determine clinical significance.
Why CPT 87086 Claims Get Denied
Claims billed under CPT 87086 are frequently denied or downcoded for the following reasons. Understanding these patterns helps your practice reduce denial rates and recover revenue faster.
Screening urine culture without symptoms not covered
Duplicate with urinalysis on same date
Frequency limit exceeded
Diagnosis does not support culture
Billing Tips for CPT 87086
Bill when urinalysis suggests infection and culture is indicated. Link to appropriate UTI or urinary symptom diagnosis code. Sensitivity testing (87181-87188) is separately billable when performed. For Medicare, screening cultures in asymptomatic patients are generally not covered.
Documentation Requirements
To support a clean claim for CPT 87086, your clinical documentation should include:
Clinical indication (symptoms, positive urinalysis)
Specimen collection method
Colony count results
Organism identification
Sensitivity results when performed
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