Otolaryngology Coding Alert

Reader Question:

Preoperative Counseling

Published on Thu Dec 27, 2012

Question: We have a father and a son scheduled for surgery on the same day. The wife/mother has scheduled an office appointment with my doctor prior to the surgery to go over the procedures and to be counseled on post-operative care for both patients.

When I called the carrier to find out how it would consider this situation, I was told that the wife/mother becomes the patient and advised to code for a consultation. This, however, makes no sense because we will not have a diagnosis code for her. Can you help?

Nebraska Subscriber

Answer: The visit by the wife/mother may be payable, depending on the age of the son. The visit should not be billed as a consult because there is no requesting physician, says Elaine Elliott, CPC, an independent coding and reimbursement specialist in Jensen Beach, Fla.

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