Wiki Using vitals dated the day before on a 99211

[LoraSales]

I work for a residential BH company that also provides medical services to the residents. Because the patients are living in such a close environment, the nurses are doing vitals daily, in the evening. The next day, when they bill 99211, the vitals are dated the day before. They were told that they could use vitals from up to 24 hours previous. I don't believe this is the case. Can someone give me a definitive answer to give them as to why they need to stop doing this, or is it truly ok?

 

[thomas7331]

They can 'use' vitals that were taken previously in the sense that they can reference them in the documentation for a face-to-face service that is being done the next day, but if vitals is the only thing they are doing, and they're not actually seeing the patient on the date that they bill 99211, then no.

Actually I doubt that they can bill this, and for multiple reasons. 99211 is an 'incident to' evaluation and management service and so must meet all of the requirements before it can be billed. To bill 99211, the service documented has to be some kind of E/M service that was ordered by a provider as part of a treatment plan for that particular patient, and has to be performed by a nurse who is employed by the provider who is billing this, and also be directly supervised by the provider at the time. Are all of these requirements being met? Did the physician order vitals, and was the physician there supervising when they took them?