Orthopedic Coding Alert

Remember Medicare’s differing rules for 8-hour stays.

People aren’t talking much about hospital/inpatient evaluation and management (E/M) coding lately, and for good reason. There’s so much to digest with office/outpatient E/M changes and telehealth exceptions that it can be easy to forget about these vital E/M codes.

They’re still out there, though — and you still have to know how to use them. Reporting observation E/M services has not changed like coding office/outpatient E/Ms, but it remains as challenging as ever — especially if you’re trying to keep all the other recent E/M changes straight in your head.

Here’s a review of observation reporting to keep you on the straight and narrow, even as the E/M coding world spins around you.

Only Report Observation for This Provider

Before delving into observation specifics, here’s some words of wisdom from Mary I. Falbo, MBA, CPC, CEO of Millennium Healthcare Consulting Inc. in Lansdale, Pennsylvania.

“First and foremost, only the practitioner who orders, and is responsible for, the patient’s care while receiving observation services can bill for observation services. The order for observation must be in writing and clearly specify outpatient observation. It should also include the reason for observation and be signed, dated, and timed by the ordering physician,” explains Falbo.

What about verbal orders? Verbal orders aren’t forbidden; they’re just governed by some extra guidance. “Verbal orders are permitted, but must be documented by the individual receiving the order. The ordering practitioner must review and confirm the verbal order when they see the patient,” explains Falbo.

However, “verbal orders should be the exception; not the rule,” she cautions.

Also, remember that “day” is defined by the date on the calendar, not each 24-hour block. For example, if a patient is admitted at 3 a.m. March 10 and discharged at 9 p.m. March 10, it is a single-day observation. Conversely, if a patient is admitted at 11 p.m. on March 10 and released at 4 a.m. on March 11, it would be a two-day observation stay.

Multi-Day Stays Marked by 99218-99220

If the patient is in observation for multiple calendar days, you’ll choose from these codes for the first date of service:

• 99218 (Initial observation care, per day, for the evaluation and management of a patient which requires these 3 key components: A detailed or comprehensive history; A detailed or comprehensive examination; and Medical decision making that is straightforward or of low complexity. …)
• 99219 (…a comprehensive history; a comprehensive examination; and Medical decision making of moderate complexity. …)
• 99220 (… A comprehensive history; A comprehensive examination; and Medical decision making of high complexity. …)

You should also roll other work related to the observation admission into the observation code, Falbo relays. “Any evaluation and management services in another setting, such as the office or an emergency department, that are related to the admission to observation status cannot be billed separately, as they are considered part of the initial observation care service.”

Remember Medicare Rule on Shorter 1-Day Stays

Medicare also wants you to use 99218-99220 for certain single-day observation services. When reporting to Medicare (and other payers that follow Medicare guidelines), you should also use 99218-99220 for patients admitted and discharged from observation status for less than eight hours on a calendar date, reminds Falbo.

So let’s say a Medicare patient is admitted to observation at 7 a.m. on March 10 and discharged at 1 p.m. on March 10. Notes indicate comprehensive history and exam, along with moderate medical decision making (MDM). For this patient, you’d report 99219.

Warning: This is only for Medicare and its adherents. There are payers who don’t want you to report 99218-99220 for any single-date observation services. You’ll have to check with each non-Medicare payer to get a bead on where they stand concerning this issue.

Use 99217 for Discharge Date

When a patient is discharged on a different calendar date, you’ll need to change coding gears; ditch 99218-99220 for the final day of observation service and report 99217 (Observation care discharge day management) instead.

So let’s say a patient is admitted on March 10 and receives level-three observation services. He is discharged on March 11. For this patient, you’d report:

• 99220 for the March 10 services (admit day).
• 99217 for the March 11 services (discharge day).

Remember These Codes for Subsequent Observation Days

So what about coding for a patient that is in observation for more than two calendar days? It doesn’t happen often, but CPT^® has you covered in case it does.

Solution: In this situation, you’ll need to rely on another code set. You’ll report the “middle” day with these subsequent observation codes:

• 99224 (Subsequent observation care, per day, for the evaluation and management of a patient, which requires at least 2 of these 3 key components: problem focused interval history; problem focused examination; medical decision making that is straightforward or of low complexity ...)
• 99225 (... an expanded problem focused interval history; an expanded problem focused examination; medical decision making of moderate complexity ...)
• 99226 (... a detailed interval history; a detailed examination; medical decision making of high complexity ...)

Remember: Unlike the other observation care codes, you can report the subsequent observation codes based on two of the three key components for each code level. So, if notes indicated that the subsequent observation day involved a detailed interval history and exam with moderate-complexity MDM, you could still report 99226.

So let’s say that a patient receives level-three observation care on March 10, level-two care on March 11, and is discharged on March 12. For this claim, you’d report:

• 99220 for the March 10 service (admit day).
• 99225 for the March 11 service (subsequent day).
• 99217 for the March 12 service (discharge day).

Single-Day Observations Call for These Codes

Finally, there’s the matter of coding observations that occur entirely on a single calendar date. For these services, you’ll choose from the following codes:

• 99234 (Observation or inpatient hospital care, for the evaluation and management of a patient including admission and discharge on the same date, which requires these 3 key components: A detailed or comprehensive history; A detailed or comprehensive examination; and Medical decision making that is straightforward or of low complexity. …)
• 99235 (… A comprehensive history; A comprehensive examination; and Medical decision making of moderate complexity. …)
• 99236 (… A comprehensive history; A comprehensive examination; and Medical decision making of high complexity. …)

For Medicare and those that follow its payment rules, the visit has to exceed eight hours in order to report 99234-99236. Query payers that don’t follow Medicare rules if you need clarity on their single-day observation coding requirements.

Documentation alert: Falbo stresses the importance of specific documentation on 99234-99236 claims. “In addition to meeting the documentation requirements for history, examination, and medical decision making [MDM], documentation in the medical record shall include:

• “Documentation stating the stay for observation care or inpatient hospital care involves eight hours, but less than 24 hours;
• “Documentation identifying the billing physician was present and personally performed the services; and
• “Documentation identifying the admission and discharge notes were written by the billing physician.”