Wiki HYDRATION - multiple start stop times

[lsolway]

Scenario: A patient in the ED is getting (necessary) hydration throughout the visit.

start 13:38 - stop 14:38
start 14:39 - stop 15:47
start 16:00 - stop 17:10
start 17:30 - stop 18: 30

Are all of these added together? Our ED Nurse said sometimes the interruptions are due to the pt going to get a CT, the bathroom, or the bag ran out. Thanks

 

[thomas7331]

I think you will have to ask your facility to give you guidance on this as I don't think there is a definitive rule one way or the other. I have worked for one facility that added the times together and for another which coded each separate infusion from start to stop individually, so I've seen it done both ways. In your example, I don't think it will make any difference because it comes out the same either way.

I tend to agree more with doing it separately, since you are reporting each of the individual services accurately with its own code. For example, I believe the guidelines say that you would not report hydration less than 30 minutes, so I don't feel it would be appropriate to add together two non-reportable services in order to get one that is reportable.

 

[lsolway]

Thank you for your response. I agree with you on not adding two hydrations together that are less than 30 minutes. Sometimes when I total the minutes on the lengthy hydrations together, I end up with one more unit than if I had counted them separately. So mostly it may be a matter of one unit.