Wiki Co surgeons AND assistant surgeons.

[rjohnson381]

Can you bill out for a co surgeon and an assistant surgeon for the same surgery?

Dr. R was the primary surgeon, and Dr. K was the co surgeon to help out with this trauma patient, but then the NP was assisting throughout the whole thing. Any advice on this would really help out.

Thanks, Renee

 

[dpenning]

It is going to be dependent on several things. Do the codes support both co and assist? Who is the payer? MC is very particular about co-surgeons and assists. While many surgeries will allow a co-surgeon, they often require they be from different specialties. If the codes support it, you can bill it but it will likely require very detailed op notes indicating why each team member was needed and what their involvement was.