Otolaryngology Coding Alert

Find out how many minimum hours Medicare requires a patient to be in observation care.Are you an outpatient E/M code aficionado? If so, you might have neglected inpatient E/M coding.Watch out: With the OIG scrutinizing E/M billing and coding like never before, you should consider these commonly-asked questions to get the lowdown on how to report your hospital services.Physician Presence May Dictate CodeQuestion: Our physician saw a patient in the office, then admitted her to the hospital later the same day. Can we bill for the office visit and the first day of admission, or do we just bill for the hospital stay?Answer: The answer depends on whether the physician sees the patient on the same day in the hospital.Scenario 1: If the physician sees the patient in the hospital on the same day he saw her in the office, you're looking at two face-to-face visits on the same date. [...]