ED Coding and Reimbursement Alert

4 tips help you select the right code to describe services provided outside the emergency department. Emergency physicians can be called out of the ED to attend to patients elsewhere in the hospital. Sometimes, especially in rural areas, the emergency physician is the only doctor in the hospital after hours to treat emergent or urgent problems such as falls or patients who code. Because these services are provided outside of the emergency department, the ED E/M codes 99281-99285 don't apply. Apply these four coding solutions from Michael A. Granovsky, MD, FACEP, CPC, President of LogixHealth, a medical coding and billing company in Bedford MA, to better describe common inpatient services that your ED physicians perform. 1. Consider Critical CareIf the patient meets the definition for critical care and minimum time thresholds are achieved, you can report code 99291 (Critical care, evaluation and management of the critically ill or critically injured [...]