Cardiology Coding Alert

Be aware: You should still report just one inpatient care code per patient, per day.

As long as you bill split/shared visits using E/M codes and follow current payment rules, CMS will continue to honor them -- which is good news since you couldn't report services you would've used consult codes for in the past as split/shared visits.

That's the word from CMS, where staffers aimed to straighten out confusion stemming from the January MLN Matters article SE1010 (www.cms.gov/MLNMattersArticles/downloads/SE1010.pdf), which offered several questions and answers regarding how to bill Medicare following the elimination of consult code payment.

No Change in Split/Shared Rules for E/M Services

In the article, CMS noted that "the split/shared rules applying to E/M services remain in effect, including those cases where services would previously have been reported by CPT consultation codes."

"We understand that this has caused some confusion, as there were -- and are -- different split/shared rules for consultation services compared to E/M services," noted CMS's Rebecca Cole during a CMS Open Door Forum.