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Anesthesia Coding Alert

Follow 4 Tips to Correctly Use the New Teaching Coding Option

Published on Fri Jan 02, 2004

Physician's presence must be documented

Before you can report a case under the new guideline for teaching physicians, the anesthesiologist must document that he was present with the resident during the pre- and postanesthesia care and for all actual minutes of case time he bills. Here are some other tips to keep in mind when billing under this new guideline:

  • The new coding option only applies to two concurrent cases that both involve residents. If the anesthesiologist medically directs a CRNA in one room and supervises a resident in another room, you should report both as medical direction.

  • Be sure there are no overlapping minutes between the concurrent cases.

  • The physician isn't required to document his participation in induction and emergence (as is required for medical direction), but it's always a good idea to document these and other critical aspects of the case.

  • Append modifier -AA (Anesthesia services performed personally by anesthesiologist) for Medicare or other carriers (such as United Healthcare) that require teaching modifiers. You do not need to also append modifier -GC (This service has been performed in part by a resident under the direction of a teaching physician) because you should only bill for the physician's time with the patient.

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