Wiki Billable NICU time?

[bridgettemartin]

We added a Pediatric Gastroenterologist to our GI Practice. She documents an additional statement indicating the NICU time, or PICU time spent doing consults or follow-ups. When I queried her about this, she stated a coder at her former employer indicated they needed that information for her critical care patients. Her visits do not meet the guidelines to bill critical care or ICU services. Is there something I am missing?

 

[FTessaBartels]

You are correct

If her visits do not meet the definition of critical care, then there is no requirement for her to put time spent on these visits. She should document her Hx, Exam and MDM as per usual, and the code will be derived from that documentation.

Hope that helps.

F Tessa Bartels, CPC, CEMC

 

[bridgettemartin]

Thanks for the reply! Much appreciated.