Wiki Hydration Coding

[mel16]

Are there specific diagnoses that must be documented in order to bill for hydration? I always understood that Deydration 276.51 or Hypovolemia 276.52 needed to be documented, or one could not bill a Hydration code (96360-96361). In some more recent research, I really did not find a definitive answer to the question. I have found no specific guideline that states those two codes are absolutely necessary, but rather that the documentation must indicate that the hydration service is medically reasonable and necessary This seems to leave a lot to interpretation for the providers.
I am to give a presentation on Hydration coding to our Urgent Care department soon and would like to be able to give them a definite guideline to follow.
Help anyone?
Thanks,
MJZ

 

[ANGELAMM2004]

Those are not the only codes that should or can be billed with hydration codes. There are many reasons why hydration therapy are medically necessary, for example in our oncology clinic we prehydrate patients prior to using certain chemotherapys and that is covered with code V58.11 or V58.12
If a patient is vomitting and/or has diarrhea but not yet dehydrated, we use those diagnosis codes and give fluids. Hope this helps you, somewhat.