Reader Questions:
Weigh In on Ob Patient Admissions
Published on Sat Aug 26, 2006
Question: Is there a certain number of inpatient admission days for delivery patients that I should bill globally, and under what circumstances can I bill outside of the global for ob patients with patient admissions?
California Subscriber Answer: No, you won't find a set number of days for inpatient admission for delivery. If the patient develops complications but your ob-gyn is not the one treating her but is rounding on the patient every day, you should include this service in the global.
If the patient is not admitted for delivery but rather a complication, you can bill for care up to the day before delivery, but everything after that you should include in the global.
And because CPT considers an admission part of the global period, many payers will deny the hospital admission if she delivers during this admission -- even if she was admitted for a complication. Read your payer contracts to see what they will or will not pay for, because it may be different from the CPT standard.
