Primary Care Coding Alert

Question: When you have a patient admitted by one physician, but a different physician discharges the patient on the same day, who would you give credit to for the admission and discharge same-day charges?

Washington Subscriber

Answer: This usually becomes a practice-specific issue. Some groups post both the admission and discharge under one physician, but split the reimbursement 50/50 on the back end. Other groups that might see this situation more often choose to alternate between which physician receives reimbursement; they believe the payments balance out over time.

Spend time collecting data on how frequently your group has this situation and possible reimbursement options. Then decide with your physicians and billing staff what the most reasonable structure might be.