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Wiki Urgent care
- Thread starter 1rae
- Start date
RebeccaWoodward*
True Blue
Laceration repairs do include an evaluation service. An E/M could be justified if the physician had to determine the extent of the injury (example-head injury) and/or whether there is any pertinent underlying medical condition (example-diabetes) that could complicate the procedure. If it is a simple repair that does not require a separate, identifiable service, I would only code the laceration repair.
RebeccaWoodward*
True Blue
I don't know that it does. The of purpose of EMTALA is to prevent hospitals from rejecting patients, refusing to treat them, or transferring them to "charity hospitals" or "county hospitals" because they are unable to pay or are covered under the Medicare or Medicaid programs. In my mind, these are two separate issues. EMTALA protects the patients well being. That's not to say that the assessment doesn't play a role in the documentation but I think this would become a case by case issue. I don't see EMTALA being a resource for physicians to bill a E/R visit with every repair unless it's medically necessary and supported by documentation. I would like to hear what others have to say.......................