Cardiology Coding Alert

Question: I have three cardiology providers in the same group with three different taxonomies. If my cardiovascular disease physician refers a patient to my electrophysiologist for a pacemaker, can I bill it as a new patient? Or, because they are both cardiologists and billed under the same taxpayer identification number (TIN), does it have to be billed as an established patient?

Pennsylvania Subscriber

Answer: No. The physicians are in the same group and cannot be coded separately. You would code this as an established patient.