If a patient is seen in the ER by one of our providers but is then admitted, am I billing an ER code or an initial inpatient code? For reference, the patient was ER from 12/15/25 1:30 to 12/15/25 12:26 and was then inpatient from 12/15/25 4:46 to 12/17/25 16:53. Original consult from ER was done 12/15/25 at 9:52 and the location on the report says ED. But i'm confused because the ER to inpatient dates and times overlap. Any help would be appreciated!
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Wiki Hospital Services
- Thread starter bryana.ament@outlook.com
- Start date
natashalage
Expert
Hello I am not an expert but I am recalling the rule that if the Same specialty provided the service in ER and then Admitted the pt on the Same day= bill Inpt e/m only.
nielynco
True Blue
You are correct. If the same physician sees the patient on the same date for the same condition and the ER visit results in admission to the hospital, you bill only the final visit, but include all of the work performed on the patient while she was in the facility that day to determine the level of service.