Interesting question. I would say what is important here is why is it being done? And is it logical? Are you taking a potty break in the middle of a session? No big deal. But say you do 30 minutes, then the patient comes back 2 hours later for 15 minutes. What is the reason for that? How much can you get done in 15 minutes? Was it necessary? In all my years in mental health, I've never had this scenario!!
I was able to find, through the
American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, that they mentioned when billing for Prolonged Services (add on codes), the time must be on the same day but does not have to be continous.
I also turned to my CPT book, and found the same thing.
I think the reason that the CPT book is specific about crisis services, is that it is more likely to NOT be continuous time than it is to be continuous time, so they spelled it out. To me, that does not mean the other codes must be continuous.
So is this a one-off thing or something that is happening regularly? Inquiring minds want to know!