# E/M with emergency delivery?



## maudys (Jul 28, 2009)

Our hospital is not currently licensed for OB services, so we routinely transfer our patients for delivery at another facility.  Once in awhile, we do have to perform an emergency delivery in the ER, and then the hospitalists take over care.  We split our ER and Inpatient accounts because we are a critical access hospital.  Is it appropriate to bill an E/M with the delivery?  Critical care?  My line of thinking is that an OB patient is not considered stable until the placenta delivers, so it should support the high complexity decision making to assess, manipulate, and support impairments of "one or more vital organ systems such that there is a high probability of imminent or life threatening deterioration in the patient's condition."

Any thoughts?


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## ringalls (Aug 6, 2009)

You can charge the delivery only (59409) and in addition there could be an E&M level based on the documentation you have.
Robin Ingalls-Fitzgerald CCS, CPC, FCS, CEMC, CEDC


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