Wiki L&D visit at hospital

[kellysarg21]

I need help with deciding how to correctly code for Labor and Delivery visits. If a patient is told to come to L&D to rule out labor stays for 3 hours and is then sent home after monitoring, how would you code this visit? Is it considered an observation or an E/M? Also.... if you can describe what constitutes and observation. Thanks in advance for any help you have.

 

[heatherwinters]

labor and delivery

Here is a link to check out
http://www.aafp.org/fpm/20060900/coding.html


OB care after hours
Q When I'm on call, I see walk-in obstetrical patients beyond 20 weeks gestation who come to the labor and delivery department after hours. Should this type of visit be coded as an emergency department visit (99282-99285) with the appropriate modifier, or is there a more accurate code? Also, if a fetal non-stress test is performed, can it be billed in addition to the visit?
A While CPT states that antepartum care includes up to 13 visits, labor checks are usually not separately reimbursed from the global period associated with OB care. If you are covering for another physician, the global period applies as it would for your own patient. However, if you provide face-to-face services for complications or preterm labor and the patient does not deliver, you should bill the appropriate evaluation and management (E/M) code. It is important to note whether the patient's status is observation, inpatient or outpatient. Emergency services codes are used only when the patient is seen in the emergency department. You can report 59025 with modifier -26 for the fetal non-stress test.