Anesthesia Coding Alert

Question: An auditor told us the doctor should put his start and stop times on the record and that we should code by that information instead of the graph showing the 15-minute intervals of the services he provided. Is that correct?

Answer: Yes, you should base charges on the start and stop times your anesthesiologist documents. The graph included in the record serves as additional information regarding how long your physician spent on various services. Because of the 15-minute intervals, however, the graph doesn't reflect each portion of your anesthesiologist's time as accurately. If you ever have questions about start and stop times, you can review the graph in conjunction with your provider's notes to get additional information and ensure you're reporting time appropriately.