kmignault
New
I am a relatively new coder/auditor and I have some questions on billing level 5 visits. It's my understanding that these are pretty rare and hard to come across. I have recently been made aware of someone who bills a high amount of level 5s. One way the provider does this is by billing by time. The other way the provider does this is by doing a comprehensive history and exam and reviewing data, ordering labs, etc. to get the data points. I'm not saying this provider is not thorough but I am concerned about the volume of these high dollar charges and I am afraid it may trigger some type of audit or review that would hurt the rest of the providers.
In one instance the patient presented with IBS and I determined the MDM to be moderate complexity. The provider insisted that the patient had SOB, chest pain and these could be potentially life-threatening so it's high risk. In the note there was no indication that the patient was having SOB and chest pain at that visit - rather, it was part of the history that in the past, the patient has exhibited these symptoms. I believe that if it were high risk, the provider would not have referred the patient out, but rather would have sent the patient to the ER. The fact they sent them to another doctor for workup means to me, this is not a life or death problem. Of course SOB and chest pain could be evidence of possible heart and lung diseases, but it could also be just due to anxiety. I don't believe that every patient who ever had SOB and/or chest pain is a high risk patient.
I have been told that this is the way this provider is and all we can do is recommend, but the provider does not have to listen. I don't think this is acceptable. I feel it borders on fraud. I believe if an outside auditor were to come in and scrutinize this provider's charts, it would be a huge mess. I'm not comfortable with this at all, but being so new to my job, I'm really not sure how to handle it.
Am I overreacting? What would you do in this situation? Thank you for your patience, I know this is a long post.
In one instance the patient presented with IBS and I determined the MDM to be moderate complexity. The provider insisted that the patient had SOB, chest pain and these could be potentially life-threatening so it's high risk. In the note there was no indication that the patient was having SOB and chest pain at that visit - rather, it was part of the history that in the past, the patient has exhibited these symptoms. I believe that if it were high risk, the provider would not have referred the patient out, but rather would have sent the patient to the ER. The fact they sent them to another doctor for workup means to me, this is not a life or death problem. Of course SOB and chest pain could be evidence of possible heart and lung diseases, but it could also be just due to anxiety. I don't believe that every patient who ever had SOB and/or chest pain is a high risk patient.
I have been told that this is the way this provider is and all we can do is recommend, but the provider does not have to listen. I don't think this is acceptable. I feel it borders on fraud. I believe if an outside auditor were to come in and scrutinize this provider's charts, it would be a huge mess. I'm not comfortable with this at all, but being so new to my job, I'm really not sure how to handle it.
Am I overreacting? What would you do in this situation? Thank you for your patience, I know this is a long post.