Podiatry Coding & Billing Alert

Question: I bill for a podiatrist who has seen a hospice patient for a foot ailment. What modifiers should I use in reporting this service?

Arkansas Subscriber

Answer: You should use the HCPCS modifier GW (Service not related to the hospice patient's terminal condition) to code correctly.

The GW modifier indicates that your podiatrist is providing a service that is not related to the condition for which the patient has been admitted into the hospice. For example, the patient is in the hospice for cancer, under the care of an oncologist. Your podiatrist is called to look into a foot lesion. You should append GW to the appropriate procedural code.