Ob-Gyn Coding Alert

Question: Can you bill a pre-op visit if your ob-gyn is the one performing the surgery?

Kansas Subscriber

Answer: If the pre-op is only for general surgical clearance and not to evaluate a problem the patient has which might impact the ob-gyn’s ability to do the surgery, or the visit was not the one at which the decision to do the surgery was made, the answer is no. You should consider this pre-op history and physical exam (H&P) as built into the expected work for the surgery. Keep in mind that Medicare considers the decision to perform a minor procedure (0 or 10 global day procedures) to be included in the surgery.