Otolaryngology Coding Alert

 

 

 

 

 

The chart above offers examples of what occurs in the ED and what you should code for your otolaryngologist's work.

With consultations, critical care services, hospital admits and ED visits comprising only some of the coding possibilities when your otolaryngologist handles an ED case, you'll need this chart to track down the right code.

Remember that consultations (99241-99245, Office consultation for a new or established patient ), critical care services (99291-99292, Critical care, E/M of the critically ill or critically injured patient ), and hospital care (99221-99223, Initial hospital care, for the E/M of a patient ; 99218-99220, Initial observation care, per day, for the E/M of a patient ; 99234-99236, Observation or inpatient hospital care, for the E/M of a patient including admission and discharge on the same date ) supersede emergency department (ED) visits (99281-99285, Emergency department visit for the E/M of a patient ). So, if your ENT meets the criteria for a consultation or performs the latter services, use that code instead of an ED visit.