Don’t Use 99050 When Your Schedule Runs Late
Question: One of the providers stayed after hours to observe a patient who received a dose of steroids due to experiencing stridor. Can I code 99050 to report the after-hours service? New York Subscriber Answer: It depends on when the patient arrived. If the patient was scheduled and arrived when the office was open, and the appointment just ran late or the provider kept the patient in the exam room, then 99050 (Services provided in the office at times other than regularly scheduled office hours, or days when the office is normally closed (eg, holidays, Saturday or Sunday)) isn’t appropriate for this situation. Code 99050 shouldn’t be used for patients who arrive when the office is open during its regular hours. Code 99050 might be appropriate if a patient called triage and the provider was already in the office catching up on paperwork after the office was closed, and told the patient to come into the office for examination or observation. In such a case, you would use 99050 along with the appropriate evaluation and management (E/M) service code from 99202-99215 (Office or other outpatient visit for the evaluation and management of a new/established patient …). Rachel Dorrell, MA, MS, CPC-A, CPPM, Production Editor, AAPC 
