Podiatry Coding & Billing Alert

Question: Can we receive extra reimbursement for seeing a patient outside of normal office hours? California Subscriber Answer: If your podiatrist sees a patient in the office during hours when the practice would normally be closed, such as on weekends or after 6 p.m., CPT guidelines allow you to report 99050 (Services provided in the office at times other than regularly scheduled office hours, or days when the office is normally closed [e.g., holidays, Saturday or Sunday], in addition to basic service) as long as the documentation supports the after-hours service. Keep in mind: A patient is considered an after-hours patient only if he reports to the office after your normal office hours end -- not when he presents during normal office hours and the appointment runs past closing time. When your physician provides an E/M service in the office during regularly scheduled "evening, weekend, or holiday office hours," by contrast, you [...]