Radiology Coding Alert

Question: We hired a locum tenens for over the holidays. Do we code the same for the replacement physician as for a full-time radiologist?  Georgia Subscriber  Answer: Private payer rules may vary, but for Medicare patients, you should append modifier Q6 (Service furnished by a locum tenens physician) to all the temporary doctor's Medicare claims and bill under the national provider identifier (NPI) of the physician the locum is replacing.  You must append this modifier to every procedure code on a Medicare claim for a substitute physician. You'll send the bill out under the regular physician's name, but modifier Q6 alerts Medicare that a locum tenens physician provided the services.  Watch for: Medicare has a 60-day limit for a locum tenens physician, and your practice may not extend this, according to Medicare Claims Processing Manual, Chapter 1, Section 30.2.11, where you'll find additional details (www.cms.hhs.gov/manuals/downloads/clm104c01.pdf). Medicare does allow physicians [...]