US · guidance
CMS SOM App. C, Tag D5655
§493.1274 Standard: Cytology
(e)(4) Unsatisfactory specimens or slide preparations are identified and reported as
unsatisfactory.
Interpretive Guidelines §493.1274(e)(4)
The report should clearly specify when the slide is unsatisfactory for evaluation.
Unsatisfactory slide preparations should not be reported as negative or normal. Use
D5805.
Probes §493.1274(e)(4)
What criteria have been developed for categorizing a slide preparation as unsatisfactory
(e.g., scant cellularity, obscuring blood, obscuring inflammation, or lack of endocervical
component)?
History
Rev. 233; Issued: 09-12-25; Effective: 09-12-25; Implementation: 09-12-25
Provenance
- Source
- cms.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-07-22
- Edition
- som-2026-07-22
- Content hash
e9ed0c19f3fb497614a4e3a2aed6863ebdafe799d0c820da3735b8209bdecbc5
The link goes to the issuing authority’s own document — the one we read to produce this record. Where a source publishes whole titles rather than sections, your browser may need a moment to jump to the provision.
Unofficial copy of government-published law, reproduced from official sources with full provenance. Not an official publication; verify against official sources before relying on it in a filing. Records in the 'guidance' corpus, and only that corpus, are sub-regulatory (interpretive guidelines, survey procedures) and are not binding law. Validity bounds follow each jurisdiction's declared temporalBasis.