ED Coding and Reimbursement Alert

Forget about incident-to in the facility,but consider this similar billing technique.ED coders that have never heard of "incident-to"billing have nothing to worry about, as you cannot code for "incident-to" services in the hospital. Coders that don't understand shared visit billing, however, could be costing their ED practices.Follow this advice on the "what's" of shared visit billing.What's a Shared Visit?During a shared visit, a qualified nonphysician practitioners (NPP) and the physician "team up" to provide a complete ED E/M service to the patient, confirms Lynn Anderanin, CPC, CPC-I, COSC, senior coding consultant for Health Info Services in Park Ridge, Ill.The rub: The ED physician must provide a face-to-face service or you cannot report a shared visit, warns Kimberly Sullivan, CPC, coding specialist at Deaconess Physician Billing Services in Evansville, Ind.According to the Medicare Claims Processing Manual (MCPM), Chapter 12, Section 30.6.1: "When a hospital inpatient/hospital outpatient or emergency department E/M is [...]