Wiki Observation Coding - At 3am my physician receives

[cbosi1]

At 3am my physician receives a call from a patient which ends with him sending her to L&D for outpatient Obs < 24 hours. He later goes in and signs the order and reviews chart. Is this billable as Obs < 24 hrs? The CPT code itself does not list a requirement for "face-to-face" time.

 

[cheermom68]

observation

It does require face to face with the patient. But, regardless of whether there is a requirement for face to face time, the encounter would not meet the criteria for the code without an exam, which if he did not see the patient he would not be able to perform. The minimum exam would be a detailed for the lowest level to be billed.