Pediatric Coding Alert

Reader Question:

Oxygen

Question: How do you bill for a patient who gets oxygen in the office? The HCPCS Codes pertain to longer usage (monthly, etc.) What about a patient who uses it for 30 minutes in our office? What do you suggest?

Lori Herzog, Billing Supervisor
Carousel Pediatrics, Metairie, La.

Answer: There is no good way to bill for oxygen delivery in the office, unfortunately. Be sure to have the physician document every visit he or she makes to this exam room, even if for less than five minutes. Add all the minutes up and you can either charge a higher office visit or prolonged services. Another way to capture payment for this is to bill for pulse oximetry (94760).