Gastroenterology Coding Alert

Question: One of my surgeons, who is a teaching physician, and a resident treated a patient with severe internal bleeding. They spent a total of 56 minutes of critical care time on the patient: 31 minutes to lavage excess blood from the intra-abdominal cavity, find the problem's cause, and stabilize the patient; and 25 minutes consulting with the patient and his wife. Can I report these services even though a resident was involved? Wyoming Subscriber Answer: Your surgeon may be able to report 99291 (Critical care, evaluation and management of the critically ill or critically injured patient; first 30-74 minutes), as long as the documentation supports the code. Key questions: When filing teaching physician (TP) claims involving critical care, make sure the supporting documentation points out that the TP (the surgeon): • treated the patient jointly with the resident • directly supervised the resident for the full 56 minutes of treatment [...]