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General Surgery Coding Alert

Reader Question:

Report Initial Inpatient Consults for Nursing Homes

Published on Tue Apr 27, 2004

Question: Which codes should I use when the physician is called into the nursing home for a consultation?

New York Subscriber Answer: You should choose the appropriate code from the 99251-99255 range (Initial inpatient consultations), depending on the level of service supported by the physician's documentation. The CPT definition of an initial inpatient consultation states, "The following codes are used to report physician consultation provided to hospital inpatients, residents of nursing facilities, or patients in a partial hospital setting." -- Technical and coding advice for You Be the Coder and Reader Questions provided by Marcella Bucknam, CPC, CCS-P, CPC-H, HIM program coordinator at Clarkson College in Omaha, Neb.
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