Psychiatry Coding & Reimbursement Alert
Inpatient Encounter Requires Face-to-Face Time
PDF
Question: Our psychiatrist conducted a follow-up evaluation for a patient admitted to our inpatient psychiatric center after a suicide attempt. She has a past history of bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder and is currently using heroin and oxycontin. The treatment plan includes opiate detox protocol, group and recreational therapy, and daily med management. What should we report for this?
Kentucky Subscriber
Answer: It depends on whether or not the psychiatrist also provided psychotherapy as part of the encounter. If so, then based on the medication and treatment information you provide, you could report 90817 (Individual psychotherapy, insight oriented, behavior modifying and/or supportive, in an inpatient hospital, partial hospital or residential care setting, approximately 20 to 30 minutes face-to-face with the patient; with medical evaluation and management services), provided the documentation indicates the face-to-face time spent. If there was no psychotherapy involved, then consider using a subsequent hospital care code (99231-99233, Subsequent hospital care, per day, for the evaluation and management of a patient...) to report the follow-up inpatient E/M service that was provided.
Psychiatry Coding & Reimbursement Alert
- Coding Strategies:
90862 Pointers Unstick Your Stalled Meds Management Claims
Weigh services provided for improved coding accuracy.
When your psychiatrist reviews the [...] - ICD-10 Update:
New Dx Codes Reduce Your Anxiety Disorder Worries
Bonus: More choices for other anxiety-related conditions improve your accuracy.
As a [...] - Reimbursement Strategies:
Lean On This Advice To Sort Out Primary Vs Secondary Payer Challenges
3 FAQs guide your way to smoother processing and improved reimbursement flow.
[...] - Brush Up on Generalized Anxiety Disorder Basics
Patients with generalized anxiety disorder experience excessive apprehension and fear over normal day-to-day situations that [...] - Reader Question:
Psychologist's Assessment Requires Documented Services
Question: Our staff psychologist saw a patient who was referred to us with a history [...] - Reader Question:
Note Bulimia Treatment Plan in Initial Interview
Question: Our psychologist saw a new patient referred by her family physician for problems with [...] - Reader Question:
Document Psychotropics for Bipolar Follow-up
Question: An established patient with a history of bipolar disorder and depression was seen in [...] - Reader Question:
Inpatient Encounter Requires Face-to-Face Time
Question: Our psychiatrist conducted a follow-up evaluation for a patient admitted to our inpatient psychiatric [...] - Reader Question:
Apply Incident-to Rules for NPP Services in Nursing Homes
Question: I am interested in learning the proper rules for coding incident to services in [...] - Reader Question:
Identify Tester, Interpreter for Neuro Testing Codes
Question: Can you advise me on how to use the updated neuropsychological testing codes? - Reader Question:
Supportive Psychotherapy Key to Insight Encounter
Question: A patient reported to our outpatient clinic for a follow-up for medication check and [...] - You Be the Coder:
High Level E/M + Prolonged Services for Psych Care
Question: Our psychiatrist typically sees patients for mental health conditions such as depression, bipolar disorder [...]