Ophthalmology and Optometry Coding Alert

Question: Our physician saw a patient in the office, then admitted her to the hospital later the same day. Can we bill for the office visit and the first day of admission, or do we just bill for the hospital stay?New Mexico SubscriberAnswer: The answer depends on whether the physician sees the patient on the same day in the hospital and performs an E/M service.Scenario 1: If the physician admits and sees the patient in the hospital on the same day he saw her in the office, you're looking at work performed from two face-to-face E/M visits on the same date. Report only the appropriate initial hospital care code (99221-99223, Initial hospital care, per day, for the evaluation and management of a patient ...). According to CPT® coding guidelines, all initial hospital care services that begin in another place of location (such as the physician's office) should be combined with [...]