Podiatry Coding & Billing Alert

Reader Question:

Use Caution When Billing for LT

Question: Can you bill a locum tenens (LT) for non-physicians?

Delaware Subscriber

Answer: No. Although many practices may try to use a locum for other employees, you can only use LT when substituting for a physician (medical doctor (MD) or doctor of osteopathic medicine (DO)).

"One of the biggest problems I see is when practices try to bring in a locum tenens for a nurse practitioner or a PA (physician assistant) who is going to be gone," says Maggie M. Mac, CPC, CEMC, CHC, CMM, ICCE, AHIMA-approved ICD-10 CM/PCS trainer and president of Maggie Mac-Medical Practice Consulting in Clearwater, Florida. "A locum tenens can be used as a replacement for a physician, not for anyone else."