Wiki discharge day management

[carlybear1]

Hi all! Any help and documentation that can answer this will be very much appreciated!!

Our hospitalist completes all necessary documentation and dictation for a discharge and conducts a face-to-face encounter with the patient. (Day 1) But then the discharge gets delayed, the patient is still in the hospital and the hospitalist visits the patient the next morning due to medical necessity, then the patient is D/C'd later that day.(Day 2)

I know we should bill the discharge day management code on the day of the initial face-to-face encounter with the patient.( Day 1). But…Can we code a subsequent hospital visit for the next day if medical necessity is metL (Day 2)

Thanks!!!

 

[Kisalyn]

I would check your MAC about this. Ours (WPS) state to report the discharge day management on the day the provider saw the patient face-to-face. If he/she returns the next day because the patient's discharge was delayed for some reason and there is medical necessity for the return visit, then day 1 is the discharge date and day 2 is the subsequent hospital visit.