I desperately need clarification on the new initial/observation care codes for 2023. Now that the observation codes are being merged with the initial inpatient hospital codes, do consulting/specialist physicians still have to use the office/outpatient codes when they see a patient in the hospital who is under observation status? We are a urology practice so we are rarely the admitting doctor so we normally bill outpatient codes (99202-99215) when we see a patient who is under observation in the hospital. So with the new codes, are the rules the same, that only the admitting physician can bill the new observation codes?