ED Coding and Reimbursement Alert

Question: Our ED physicians are sometimes called to the hospital to pronounce the death of a patient. Is it appropriate to report a low-level subsequent hospital care code such as 99231 or 99232?

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Answer: It is generally very difficult to get paid for this service, and most ED physicians provide it as a courtesy to the attending physician.
 
If the patient is described as dead at the time of the physician's arrival, the patient is no longer covered by insurance because health benefits end at the time of death. In that event, any billing would be addressed to the patient's estate, and payment would be extremely difficult. It would be hard to justify medical necessity for service to a dead patient.
Reader Questions and You Be The Coder were reviewed by John Turner, MD, FACEP, medical director for coding and documentation at TeamHealth Inc., in Knoxville, Tenn.; and Daniel S. Fick, MD, director of risk management and compliance for the College of Medicine faculty practice at the University of Iowa in Iowa City.