Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

Tip: Know which doc attended and which referred to ensure you report patient visits correctly Question: A family practice physician admitted a patient for treatment of severe abdominal pain, and then consulted with my surgeon, who followed the patient through the episode of care. Both physicians want to report the hospital discharge. Can the two physicians split the discharge billing? If that's not allowed, which physician should report it? Answer: It sounds as if the family practice physician is the admitting "attending" physician. Therefore, the attending physician is the physician who reports the discharge code (99238-99239, Hospital discharge day management ...). According to CPT, under instructions for Hospital Discharge Services, "To report concurrent care services provided by a physician(s) other than the attending physician, use subsequent hospital care codes 99231-99233." Remember: Medicare and many other payers allow only the admitting physician to bill a discharge for the patient. However, if [...]