I am having a debate with a coworker and am reaching out for some clarity. How would you code this?
Jane Smith was admitted to observation on January 1st late at night for further work up of upper abdominal pain the
patient had been experiencing. Jane was not evaluated by the admitting physician until the next morning (January 2nd).
After the physician’s initial face-to-face encounter with the patient and review of her diagnostic studies it was determined
that she suffered from gall stones. Jane decided with her physician to schedule a cholecystectomy in the near future so
she could make arrangements at home. She was discharged later that day (January 2nd)....
The answer that was provided was....
These admission services cannot be coded until the provider performs a face-to-face-service. If the face-to-face service for
the admission occurs on the same date as the discharge, a code from the single-day observation service codes should be
selected. Because the physician provided both admission and discharge services on January 2nd, the appropriate code
selection would be CPT 99234 – 99236, dependent upon the documentation provided.
If the above answer is correct, how do we bill for Jan 1st? Is it we don't bill for that day?
Jane Smith was admitted to observation on January 1st late at night for further work up of upper abdominal pain the
patient had been experiencing. Jane was not evaluated by the admitting physician until the next morning (January 2nd).
After the physician’s initial face-to-face encounter with the patient and review of her diagnostic studies it was determined
that she suffered from gall stones. Jane decided with her physician to schedule a cholecystectomy in the near future so
she could make arrangements at home. She was discharged later that day (January 2nd)....
The answer that was provided was....
These admission services cannot be coded until the provider performs a face-to-face-service. If the face-to-face service for
the admission occurs on the same date as the discharge, a code from the single-day observation service codes should be
selected. Because the physician provided both admission and discharge services on January 2nd, the appropriate code
selection would be CPT 99234 – 99236, dependent upon the documentation provided.
If the above answer is correct, how do we bill for Jan 1st? Is it we don't bill for that day?