Wiki inpatient charges

[dsmith06351]

What would be the correct place of service for this scenario? The patient is seen in the office and the decision is made to admit the patient. The doctor documents the admission from the office based on the services in the office and faxes it to the hospital. The patient is then directly admitted using the orders faxed over and the doctor does not round at the hospital until the next day. Would it be correct to bill the office visit because the doctor did not go to the hospital or would you bill the admission because the doctor dictated the admission?

Thanks for any help

Denise Smith CPC-A, CEMC

 

[cheermom68]

inpatient

You cannot bill the initial inpatient charge unless the MD saw the patient in the hospital that day. So in this example you would charge the office visit for that day and then the initial inpatient encounter for the first day the MD saw the patient in the hospital depending on the documentation.