Pediatric Coding Alert

Question: Our pediatrician wrote in the documentation, "Performed consultation with well child and her mother." We are considering reporting 99242. Does that code describe a well visit or a sick visit? Answer: The term "consult," from a coding standpoint, refers to your pediatrician's work performing an exam at the request of another physician, and offering his opinion in writing back to that physician. You would never use a consultation code for a well child visit. If your physician uses the term "consult" in his documentation, you must determine whether he performed a standard office visit with a patient (which some pediatricians refer to using the term "consult") or whether a true consultation based on the E/M definition was performed.Here's the difference: To report a code from the consultation series 99241-99245, another practitioner or other appropriate source has to request your pediatrician's opinion on a particular issue that the patient is [...]