Anesthesia Coding Alert

Question: Ive heard conflicting opinions on whether the new modifier -27 will affect anesthesia providers. When might we need to code with it?

Maine Subscriber

Answer: Modifier -27 (multiple outpatient hospital evaluation and management [E/M] encounters on the same date) was established for Medicares new outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS). Anesthesia providers rarely use E/M codes. However, some pain-management providers might use modifier -27 to report multiple E/M encounters with a patient or when treating critically ill patients, such as those in ICU, with ongoing pain-management needs.