Summary & Overview
CPT 01402: Anesthesia for Total Knee Arthroplasty
CPT code 01402 represents anesthesia services for patients undergoing an open or arthroscopic total knee arthroplasty. This code is used to capture the professional anesthetic management associated with total knee replacement procedures and is relevant across hospital and ambulatory surgical settings. Accurate use of the code supports clinical documentation, claim adjudication, and national measurement of anesthesia service utilization for major lower-extremity joint surgery.
Major national payers covered in this analysis include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find an overview of clinical context surrounding total knee arthroplasty anesthesia, common billing considerations, and the relationship between the anesthetic service and the underlying orthopedic procedure. The publication outlines typical sites of service, associated ICD-10 diagnostic presentations commonly linked to total knee arthroplasty, and related surgical procedure codes.
This summary equips billing managers, perioperative administrators, and policy analysts with a concise reference for CPT code 01402, including what the code denotes, its place in the surgical care episode, and topics to review when reconciling anesthesia claims tied to total knee arthroplasty nationally.
Billing Code Overview
CPT code 01402 describes anesthesia services provided for a patient undergoing an open or arthroscopic total knee arthroplasty. The service type is anesthesia for total knee arthroplasty, which encompasses preoperative, intraoperative, and immediate postoperative management related to anesthetic care. The typical site of service is an operating room or other procedural suite where a total knee arthroplasty (open or arthroscopic) is performed.
Clinical & Coding Specifications
Clinical Context
A 68-year-old patient with progressive right knee pain, crepitus, and loss of function due to advanced osteoarthritis presents for elective total knee arthroplasty. Preoperative evaluation documents medical comorbidities (controlled hypertension and type 2 diabetes), ASA classification P3, and review of prior imaging confirming joint space loss and osteophyte formation. The orthopedic surgeon schedules an open total knee arthroplasty (27447). The anesthesia team (anesthesiologist or certified registered nurse anesthetist) provides perioperative anesthesia care billed under 01402, which denotes anesthesia for open or arthroscopic total knee arthroplasty.
On the day of surgery the patient undergoes preoperative verification, consent, and regional nerve block placement (if indicated) in the preoperative area. In the operating room the anesthesia provider induces general endotracheal anesthesia or manages monitored anesthesia care with supplemental regional techniques per the plan. Intraoperative management includes airway control, invasive or noninvasive hemodynamic monitoring, fluid management, antibiotic timing, and multimodal analgesia coordination. Postoperative anesthesia responsibilities include emergence, immediate post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) handoff, pain control plan, and documentation of anesthetic type, duration, and any intraoperative events or complications relevant to billing modifiers.
Coding Specifications
| Modifier | Description | When to Use |
|---|---|---|