Pulmonology Coding Alert

READER QUESTION:

Roll 2 Same-Day Visits Into 1

Question: If a pulmonologist sees a patient in the morning for one problem and sees him again later in the day for a different problem, how is it coded?


Florida Subscriber


Answer: You should bill only one E/M code per day. Review the documentation for both visits, and bill the code that meets the level of service based on the total documentation, such as 99223 (Initial hospital care, per day, for the evaluation and management of a patient ...). Answers to You Be the Coder and Reader Questions reviewed by Alan L. Plummer, MD, professor of medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta; and Carol Pohlig, BSN, RN, CPC, ASC, senior coding and education specialist at the University of Pennsylvania department of medicine in Philadelphia.
You’ve reached your limit of free articles. Already a subscriber? Log in.
Not a subscriber? Subscribe today to continue reading this article. Plus, you’ll get:
  • Simple explanations of current healthcare regulations and payer programs
  • Real-world reporting scenarios solved by our expert coders
  • Industry news, such as MAC and RAC activities, the OIG Work Plan, and CERT reports
  • Instant access to every article ever published in Revenue Cycle Insider
  • 6 annual AAPC-approved CEUs
  • The latest updates for CPT®, ICD-10-CM, HCPCS Level II, NCCI edits, modifiers, compliance, technology, practice management, and more

Other Articles in this issue of

Pulmonology Coding Alert

View All