# S9484 Crisis coding



## stresscodes (Feb 19, 2013)

I'm looking for help on crisis code S9484. The code descriptor reads: Crisis intervention mental health services, per hour. Does anyone know where I can find more information on how to bill this code if services provided are less than an hour. I know timed codes typically have a time guideline, for example the new psychotherapy code 90832 is for 30 minutes, but can be used for 16-37 minutes. I'm looking for the same type of guideline for the S9484 code and I CANNOT find anything. Can anyone point me in the right direction? This BH coding is diffucult to find information on.

Thanks!
Jenny


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## elleyl (Feb 19, 2013)

Is there a reason you are using the S code and not 90839?  Code 90839 is Psychotherapy for crisis and is used for the first 30 to 74 minutes of intervention and 90840 for each additional 30 minutes. These codes include history, mental status examination, mobilization of resources, and implementation treatment. 

Psychotherapy is a variety of treatment techniques in which a physician or other qualified health care provider helps a patient with a mental illness or behavioral disturbance identify and alleviate any emotional disruptions, maladaptive behavioral patterns, and contributing/exacerbating factors. Report these codes when the psychotherapy is for a patient with a life-threatening or highly complex psychiatric crisis. 

Let me know if you still have questions as I'm not sure of your specific situtation for using 
S9484.


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## stresscodes (Feb 19, 2013)

Sorry I didn't clarify this if for 2012 dates of service. The 90839 code is a new crisis code and I am aware of that, but prior to 2013 the only crisis code was the S9484.


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## Lsapar (Oct 19, 2017)

*medicare uses HCPCS codes not cpt codes*

medicare uses HCPCS codes not cpt codes


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## briansmith99 (Oct 19, 2017)

The chapter heading for Psychotherapy contains the general rule for time based codes.  You are correct!  Where 90832 is the code for 30 minutes of therapy, time spent would need to equal more than 50% of 30 minutes to qualify for this code and time spent with the patient of less than 15 minutes would not be reported.   Following that methodology to crisis therapy would indicate that a therapeutic session of less than 30 minutes would not qualify as billable using the code specifying 1 hour.  The new code 90839 contains the caveat that time does not need to be contiguous but I am not certain if that applied back when S9484 was being used.


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