Wiki Inpatient Admission: physician billing.

[Christine Patterson]

When a physician documentation does not meet the level needed to bill the lowest level of inpatient admission 99221 what level do you code the admission? ? subsequent level that documentation matches?

Thank you for your help in advance.

 

[espressoguy]

You can bill the appropriate subsequent level (9923x).

 

[amsmith]

CMS says to use the 99499.

 

[mitchellde]

CMS says to use the 99499.

I agree, an admission has to be billed with an initial inpatient code in the event that there would ever be a consult requested the AI modifier would need to be appended and this cannot be used with the subsequent codes. On addition if your provider is admitted the patient the appropriate question would be why doesn't the documentation meet the most barest of required minimums.