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Anesthesia Coding Alert

You Be the Coder:

Choosing Whether 99221 or 99231 Is Better Fit

Published on Thu Feb 14, 2013

Question: Our anesthesiologist was consulted for a possible emergency intubation. When he arrived and completed his evaluation, the tube wasn’t necessary. He wants to bill a consult for the service (the total time was 30 minutes). The anesthesiologist has always billed 99231 for this type of situation in the past, but I think it should be 99221. Which is correct?
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