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HOSPITAL CONSULT FOR PSYCH - NO DIAGNOSIS

A

acgibson@namccares.com

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14
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Florence, AL
My doc was called for a consult to R/O Suicidal Ideations. Patient denied everything, no depress, etc. Can I bill the diagnosis Z13.31 Depression Screening with a Inpatient Consult Code? Humana Medicare.
 
No, a screening is a preventive service and does not require a consultation with a specialist. Doctors would not request a specialist consultation to perform a screening of a patient in a hospital - if a screening was suggested or due, they would general recommend the patient do that as an outpatient after discharge.

Consultations are medically necessary and problem-oriented visits that are requested to evaluate a patient due to some particular abnormal symptom, behavior, or finding that has been identified in the course of the stay in the facility and for which the requesting provider's skills are not sufficient to make an evaluation or treatment plan. There should be some reason documented in the patient's chart that provides a reason that the attending physician requested the consultation, and if your physician did not make a formal diagnosis or finding, then that reason would be your diagnosis for the visit. If nothing is documented, then you may need to query your physician for clarification as to why the visit was necessary.
 
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