Wiki Same day obs admit/dc 2 different docs

[SUEV]

If 1 doc does the admission note in the morning and the other doc does the discharge that night and they're both from the same practice, how should this be billed? Can I use codes 99234-99236? Is it appropriate to bill both services under 1 provider? It seems to me that if I bill for each provider separately (1st doc=99218-99220, 2nd=99217), I'd get a denial somewhere. Any helpful hints?
Thanks,
Sue

 

[dbranker]

Hello Sue,

You are correct in selecting 9923X. The guidelines indicate that admission and discharge on the same day is reported this way. See below

Observation care discharge of a patient from "observation status" includes final examination of the patient, discussion of the hospital stay, instructions for continuing care, and preparation of discharge records. For observation or inpatient hospital care including the admission and discharge of the patient on the same date, see codes 99234-99236 as appropriate.

Many payers use the tax ID as the controller and since two providers in the same specialty and practice are considered the same provider, you must make a decision on who it is billed under.

I hope this helps.

Doris