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Wiki Screening Vs Consulting in Hospital Setting

heidib

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West Winfield, NY
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In my hospital, our anesthesia department provides screening/clearance for patient's scheduled for surgery. EVERY patient scheduled for surgery at our hospital in seen by a NP (working under anesthesia dept). We obviously do not bill these screenings but the decline in cancellation rates of surgeries has been our primary goal of this program.

Now my question -there are times when the patient's ailments, such as cardiac issues, previous problems with anesthesia, etc cause concern and would necessitate a consult with an anesthesia MD to give an opinion of whether the patient is healthy enough to withstand the surgery under anesthesia.

With the proper criteria, the 3 R's of a consult, there should be no reason why our Anesthesia MD couldn't bill for a consult in those cases. Am I right? Any input would be appreciated.
 
If the documentation supports

Yes, you are right. If this is not a routine screening, but an actual request for a consultation and the documentation support that service, you should be able to code the consult.

F Tessa Bartels, CPC, CEMC
 
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