# Patient seen in Labor and Delivery Triage



## Vanessa123 (Aug 16, 2010)

If a patient is brought in through the ER and transported up to Labor and Delivery to be evaluated, is this still considered an ER visit 99281-99285?


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## Lisa Bledsoe (Aug 16, 2010)

I don't think so.  ED is defined by CPT as "an organized hospital-based facility for the provision of unscheduled episodic services to patients who present for immediate medical attention.  The facility must be available 24 hours a day."  Most L&D's are not staffed 24 hours a day, but an on-call nurse would be called in.  That is my interpretation...  I think I have something from the COBGC practicum that supports this but I can't lay my hands on it right now...


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## DoDCoder4You (Aug 16, 2010)

Lisa is correct,
once that patient goes to the Floor, it gets rolled into one E&M.

And then you have to consider if the Patient Delivered or Did L&D Triage send the Pt. Home


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## preserene (Aug 16, 2010)

As for my openion , patients can be seen in ED  of hospital and depending upon her labor status, dilation, intensity of contraction and high risks complicating preg or labor, she would be admitted to the labor suite, or kept under observation and if needed NST, US and so on, or sent home from there. Usually patients are not sent straight from labor suite (triage)  Home at any cast under any circumstances. After observation and CTG and not needing labor room attention any more, then she will be sent to ward (floor) and would be discharged from there as per the floor attending physician's evaluation and as per the discharging rules. 
It is same like admitting the patients of other specialties from ED to ICU or CCU; just as we do not discharge patients from ICU or CCU straight home, labor suite patients are also not sent home directly.
Am I up to your point or No?


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