For non-Medicare patients, if the consultation is done after the patient is admitted to the hospital, consultation services may be reported with the inpatient consultation codes (99251–99255). Consultation services in observation status are reported with the outpatient consultation codes (99241–99245).
In the outpatient setting, ICD-10-CM and CPT®/HCPCS Level II codes are used to report health services and supplies. Medicare Part B services are observation hospital care, emergency department services, lab tests, X-rays, outpatient surgeries, and doctors’ office visits.
Medicare does not accept claims for either outpatient (99241-99245) or inpatient (99251-99255) consultations, and instead requires that services be billed with the most appropriate (non-consultation) E/M code.
Patient's noncompliance with other medical treatment and regimen. The 2020 edition of ICD-10-CM Z91.19 became effective on October 1, 2019. This is the American ICD-10-CM version of Z91.19 - other international versions of ICD-10 Z91.19 may differ.
For an inpatient service, use the initial hospital services codes (99221—99223). If the documentation doesn't support the lowest level initial hospital care code, use a subsequent hospital care code (99231—99233).
99254 Inpatient consultation for a new or established patient, which requires these 3 key components: A comprehensive history; A comprehensive examination; and Medical decision making of moderate complexity.
Inpatient medical coding is reported using ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS codes, which results in payments based on Medicare Severity-Diagnosis Related Groups (MS-DRGs). Outpatient medical coding requires ICD-10-CM and CPT®/HCPCS Level II codes to report health services and supplies.
An initial inpatient consultation is provided in an inpatient hospital, a skilled nursing facility, or a partial hospital setting. This type of consultation should be billed only once by a particular consultant per inpatient admission. This type of consultation has the second-highest level of Medicare reimbursement.
For revenue codes that are not exempt, providers are required to indicate valid and most appropriate HCPCS or CPT procedure codes in addition to the revenue codes on outpatient hospital claims. This policy affects providers using the following type of bill codes: 120-129 (Inpatient Hospital, Medicare Part B Only).
Inpatient hospital visits99232 : Inpatient hospital visits: Initial and subsequent Physicians typically spend 25 minutes at the bedside and on the patient's hospital floor or unit.
Both ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS coding manuals are used for inpatient coding. ICD-10-PCS is exclusively used for inpatient, hospital settings in the U.S. ICD-10 PCS excludes common procedures, lab tests, and educational sessions that are not unique to the inpatient, hospital setting.
Inpatient: “If the diagnosis documented at the time of discharge is qualified as 'probable,' 'suspected,' 'likely,' 'questionable,' 'possible,' or 'still to be ruled out,' or other similar terms indicating uncertainty, code the condition as if it existed or was established” (section II.
Outpatient coding refers to a detailed diagnosis report in which the patient is generally treated in one visit, whereas an inpatient coding system is used to report a patient's diagnosis and services based on his duration of stay.
If a social worker or therapist asks for your clinical opinion, bill that encounter using one of the initial hospital care codes (99221-99223). If another physician has already performed a history and physical for the admission, use a subsequent care code (99231-99233).
A consultation code may be billed out for an established patient as long as the criteria for a consultation code are met. There must be a notation in the patient's medical record that consultation was requested and a notation in the patient's medical record that a written report was sent to the requesting physician.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has eliminated the coverage of consultation codes as of January 1, 2010.
CPT 99223 is defined as: Initial hospital care, per day, for the evaluation and management of a patient, which requires these three key components: A comprehensive history. A comprehensive exam. Medical decision making of high complexity.
CPT® Code 99241 - New or Established Patient Office or Other Outpatient Consultation Services - Codify by AAPC. CPT. Evaluation and Management Services. Consultation Services. Office or Other Outpatient Consultation Services.
99205 Office or other outpatient visit for the evaluation and management of a new patient, which requires these three key components: a comprehensive history; a comprehensive examination; and medical decision making of high complexity.
CPT code 99232 usually requires documentation to support that the patient is responding inadequately to therapy or has developed a minor complication. Such minor complication might call for careful monitoring of comorbid conditions requiring continuous, active management.
There, you’ll find directives such as “Use additional code” or “Code first” (“Code first” indicates you should code the underlying condition first). Also, keep in mind that there are single combination codes (i.e., one code that indicates multiple diagnoses) you can use to classify conditions that often occur simultaneously.
Unspecified codes are available for the rare cases in which there is absolutely no other, more specific option. If a more specific option is available, you should use it.
The World Health Organization (WHO)—the public health sector of the United Nations that focuses on international health and outbreaks—started developing the ICD-10 coding system in 1983, but didn’t actually finish it until 1992. Yes, it took almost a decade to create ICD-10, and it has taken more than a decade for the US to actually put the final version of the code set to use.
So, what about ICD-10 makes it so much better than ICD-9? Well, the massive number of codes means that medical providers—including rehab therapists—can more accurately document clinical information, including patient diagnoses. Ultimately, that fosters:
For example, you could use Z51.89, encounter for other specified aftercare, or Z47.1, aftercare following joint replacement surgery. However, as this article notes, “you should not submit Z51.89 as a patient’s sole diagnosis—if you can help it—because on its own, this code might not adequately support the medical necessity of therapy treatment. Thus, using it as a primary diagnosis code could lead to claim denials.” In fact, whenever you use an aftercare code, you also should code for the underlying conditions/effects. For chronic or recurrent bone, muscle, or joint conditions, check out Chapter 13.
The short answer is “no.” Sure, ICD-10 helps healthcare providers better communicate detailed diagnostic information through codes. However, codes aren’t enough by themselves; providers must also continue to complete detailed documentation to support their code selection. According to CMS, “If complete information is not captured in clinical documentation, the result will be incomplete documentation for coding that then can impact revenues through delays, missed revenues, [and] outcome measures that don’t clearly or accurately reflect the quality and complexity of the care that is being delivered.”
While the ICD-10 Ombudsman and ICD-10 Coordination Center (ICC) are no longer available to answer provider questions directly, CMS does offer links to additional resources for ICD-10 questions on this page, including this ICD-10 resource guide and contact list for providers.
Inpatient consultations should be reported using the Initial Hospital Care code (99221-99223) for the initial evaluation, and a Subsequent Hospital Care code (99231-99233) for subsequent visits. In some cases, the service the physician provides may not meet the documentation requirements for the lowest level initial hospital visit (99221).
When a Medicare patient is admitted, and another physician provides a consultation for that patient, the situation may arise in which both the admitting physician and consulting physician would report an initial inpatient service (e.g., 99221-99223). To differentiate between the two physicians’ services, and to prevent a claims denial for duplication of services, the admitting physician should append modifier AI Principal physician of record to the initial inpatient service code.
But, the endocrinologist would not append modifier AI because he is not the admitting physician overseeing the patient’s overall care. Per CMS guidelines, “In all cases, physicians will bill the available code that most appropriately describes the level of the services provided.”.
Consultation Coding for Medicare. Medicare does not accept claims for either outpatient (99241-99245) or inpatient (99251-99255) consultations, and instead requires that services be billed with the most appropriate (non-consultation) E/M code.
While CMS expects that the CPT code reported accurately reflects the service provided, CMS has instructed Medicare contractors to not find fault with providers who report a subsequent hospital care CPT code in cases where the medical record appropriately demonstrates that the work and medical necessity requirements are met for reporting a subsequent hospital care code (under the level selected), even though the reported code is for the provider’s first E/M service to the inpatient during the hospital stay.
If a patient is admitted after an ED consultation and is not seen on the unit (in the intensive care unit, for example) on the date of admission, only report the outpatient consultation codes (99241–99245) . If the surgeon sees the patient on the hospital unit on the date of admission, report all E/M services related to the admission with the initial inpatient admission service code (99221–99223) or initial observation care code (99221–99223). Do not report both an outpatient consultation and inpatient admission (or observation care) for services on the same day related to the same inpatient stay. (See Table 2 for the 2013 total initial observation, hospital, same day observation and discharge, and outpatient consultation facility and nonfacility RVUs.)
For Medicare patients, inpatient consultations are reported with the initial hospital visit codes (99221–99223) . Do not append modifier AI, which is only used by the admitting physician. If the surgeon is consulted on case involving a Medicare patient who is in observation status, the surgeon should report new patient (99201–99205) or established patient (99211–99215) office/outpatient codes. For non-Medicare patients, if the consultation is done after the patient is admitted to the hospital, consultation services may be reported with the inpatient consultation codes (99251–99255). Consultation services in observation status are reported with the outpatient consultation codes (99241–99245). (See Table 4 for the 2013 total initial hospital, inpatient and outpatient consultation facility and nonfacility RVUs.)
An important factor for correct coding is to report the service based on the location/status at the time of admission and if the payor is Medicare or follows Medicare rules related to consultation services.
However, only one initial visit per specialty can be paid per stay. Follow-up visits in the facility setting may continue to be billed as subsequent hospital care visits (99231–99233). The coding depends on the admission status of the patient when seen and whether the patient is classified as Medicare or non-Medicare.
Coding for surgical services can be complicated because it involves numerous rules, guidelines, and exceptions that frequently change. An area of exceptional difficulty is the correct use of codes for evaluation and management (E/M) of patients who require hospitalization. Coding for E/M services has become even more complex due to ...
ED consultation: Patient is not admitted. A patient presents to the ED; general surgery is consulted, but the patient is not admitted to the hospital. If the patient is a Medicare beneficiary, the general surgeon should bill the level of ED code (99281–99285).
Coding becomes more complicated in the inpatient hospital setting, where health care providers are instructed to bill the initial hospital care codes (99221–99223). As a result, multiple billings of initial hospital visit codes could occur in a single day. However, only one initial visit per specialty can be paid per stay. Follow-up visits in the facility setting may continue to be billed as subsequent hospital care visits (99231–99233). The coding depends on the admission status of the patient when seen and whether the patient is classified as Medicare or non-Medicare.
A finding that a patient is not receiving active treatment will not in itself preclude payment for physicians' services under Medicare Part B. As long as the professional services rendered by the physician are reasonable and necessary for the care of the patient, such services would be reimbursable under the medical insurance program. (CMS Publication 100-02, Medicare Benefit Policy Manual, Chapter 2, Section 30.2.3).
Effective July 1, 2006, physicians will also be required to include a statement recertifying that the patient continues to need, on a daily basis, active treatment furnished directly by or requiring the supervision of inpatient psychiatric facility personnel.
In short, the physician must serve as a source of information and guidance for all members of the therapeutic team who work directly with the patient in various roles. It is the responsibility of the physician to periodically evaluate the therapeutic program and determine the extent to which treatment goals are being realized and whether changes in direction or emphasis are needed. Such evaluation should be made on the basis of periodic consultations and conferences with therapists, reviews of the patient's medical record, and regularly scheduled patient interviews, at least once a week ( CMS Publication 100-02, Medicare Benefit Policy Manual, Chapter 2, Section 30.2.3).
The period of time covered by the physician's certification is referred to a period of active treatment. This period should include all days on which inpatient psychiatric facility services were provided because of the individual's need for active treatment (not just the days on which specific therapeutic or diagnostic services are rendered). For example, a patient's program of treatment may necessitate the discontinuance of therapy for a period of time or it may include a period of observation, either in preparation for or as a follow-up to therapy, while only maintenance or protective services are furnished. If such periods were essential to the overall treatment plan, they would be regarded as part of the period of active treatment (CMS Publication 100-02, Medicare Benefit Policy Manual, Chapter 2, Section 30.2.2.1).
You, your employees and agents are authorized to use CPT only as contained in the following authorized materials of CMS internally within your organization within the United States for the sole use by yourself, employees and agents. Use is limited to use in Medicare, Medicaid or other programs administered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). You agree to take all necessary steps to insure that your employees and agents abide by the terms of this agreement.
In accordance with the above definition of improvement, the administration of antidepressant or tranquilizing drugs that are expected to significantly alleviate a patient's psychotic or neurotic symptoms would be termed active treatment (assuming that the other elements of the definition are met). However, the administration of a drug or drugs does not necessarily constitute active treatment.
Contractors may specify Revenue Codes to help providers identify those Revenue Codes typically used to report this service. In most instances Revenue Codes are purely advisory. Unless specified in the article, services reported under other Revenue Codes are equally subject to this coverage determination. Complete absence of all Revenue Codes indicates that coverage is not influenced by Revenue Code and the article should be assumed to apply equally to all Revenue Codes.
For office and outpatient services, use new and established patient visit codes (99202—99215) , depending on whether the patient is new or established to the physician, following the CPT rule for new and established patient visits. Use these codes for consultations for patients in observation as well, because observation is an outpatient service.
When reporting a consultation code follow CPT rules. The statement that I recommend is “I am seeing this patient at the request of Dr. Patel for my evaluation of new onset a-fib.” At the end of the note, indicate that a copy of the report is being returned to the requesting clinician. In a shared medical record, this can be done electronically.
The advantages to using the consult are codes are twofold: they are not defined as new or established, and may be used for patients the clinician has seen before, if the requirements for a consult are met and they have higher RVUs and payments. Category of code for payers that don’t recognize consult codes.
How will clinicians know if the payer recognizes consults? They won’t know. Most groups suggest that their clinicians continue to select and document consults (when the service is a consult) whether or not they know if the payer recognizes consults or not. They set up an edit in their system so that consult codes can be reviewed and cross walked to the appropriate code, depending on the payer.
For more information on office consults and Medicare consult codes, or to determine proper usage of CPT® codes 99241-99245, become a member of CodingIntel today.
CMS stopped recognizing consult codes in 2010. Outpatient consultations (99241—99245) and inpatient consultations (99251—99255) are still active CPT ® codes, and depending on where you are in the country, are recognized by a payer two, or many payers.
For an inpatient service, use the initial hospital services codes (99221—99223). If the documentation doesn’t support the lowest level initial hospital care code, use a subsequent hospital care code (99231—99233). Don’t make the mistake of always using subsequent care codes, even if the patient is known to the physician.
In the outpatient setting, ICD-10-CM and CPT®/HCPCS Level II codes are used to report health services and supplies. Medicare Part B services are observation hospital care, emergency department services, lab tests, X-rays, outpatient surgeries, and doctors’ office visits. Outpatient coders cannot code “probable,” “suspected,” “likely,” or “rule out” conditions. Physicians tend to use this verbiage, even though the conditions cannot be coded unless definitively diagnosed.#N#It’s important to review the official guidelines to determine whether encounter codes (e.g., encounter for palliative care) are appropriate to use as principle (first-listed only), secondary (must have another code listed as the principle), or either designation.#N#Example: ICD-10-CM Z51.11 Encounter for antineoplastic chemotherapy is a first-listed or principle-only diagnosis code. It is followed by the code for the malignant neoplasm treated. If the patient receives both radiation therapy and chemotherapy during the same session, Z51.0 Encounter for antineoplastic radiation therapy and Z51.11 are sequenced as the principle and secondary diagnoses, in either order, and then the malignancy treated.#N#Regardless of setting, it’s important for documentation to be clear and complete for accurate coding. For times when clarification is needed, a physician query may be in order.
Inpatient facilities are acute and long-term care hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, hospices, and home health services. Inpatient accounts are reported using ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS codes, resulting in payment based on Medicare Severity-Diagnosis Related Groups (MS-DRGs).#N#In the facility setting, coders must determine the principle diagnosis for the admission, as well as present on admission (POA) indicators on all diagnoses.#N#Principle diagnosis is the condition after study that prompted the admission to the hospital. The physician must link the presenting symptoms necessitating the admission to the final diagnosis. You cannot infer a cause-and-effect relationship. When the same diagnosis code applies to two or more conditions during the same encounter (i.e., acute and chronic conditions classified with the same diagnosis code), the POA assignment depends on whether all conditions represented by the single diagnosis code were POA.#N#POA is defined as the conditions present at the time the order for the inpatient admission occurs. The POA indicator differentiates conditions present at the time of admission from those conditions that develop during the inpatient stay. Providers are not required to identify or document a condition within a given period for it to be classified as POA. In some clinical situations, it may not be possible for the provider to make a definitive diagnosis at the time of admission; likewise, a patient may not recognize or report a condition immediately.#N#Do not code signs and symptoms that are an integral part of the definitive diagnosis. Diagnoses that are listed as “probable,” “suspected,” “likely,” “questionable,” and other similar terms, may be coded when documented as existing at the time of discharge and no definitive diagnosis has been established. The diagnostic workup, arrangement for further workup or observation, etc., must closely correspond with the established diagnosis. Do not code uncertain diagnoses not documented at the time of discharge (i.e., on the discharge summary) because they may have been ruled out during the stay. “Appears to be” is considered an uncertain diagnosis; whereas, “evidence of” is not considered uncertain.
Providers are not required to identify or document a condition within a given period for it to be classified as POA. In some clinical situations, it may not be possible for the provider to make a definitive diagnosis at the time of admission; likewise, a patient may not recognize or report a condition immediately.
Evaluation services (consults) requested of other physicians and qualified NPPs while the patient is in observation care are reported as office or other outpatient visit CPT codes 99202-99205 or 99211-99215.
Observation discharge service is reported using CPT code 99217 if the discharge is on other than the initial date of observation care. Procedure code 99217 includes all services provided to a patient on the day of discharge from outpatient hospital observation status.
This specifies that services provided to an inpatient or outpatient of a hospital are covered only when that primary hospital bills Medicare for the services.
The general rule is that the physician should order an inpatient admission for patients who are expected to need hospital care to extend through two midnights or longer and treat other patients on an outpatient basis.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency responsible for administration of the Medicare, Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Programs, contracts with certain organizations to assist in the administration of the Medicare program. Medicare contractors are required to develop and disseminate Articles. CMS believes that the Internet is an effective method to share Articles that Medicare contractors develop. While every effort has been made to provide accurate and complete information, CMS does not guarantee that there are no errors in the information displayed on this web site. THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND ITS EMPLOYEES ARE NOT LIABLE FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR OTHER INACCURACIES IN THE INFORMATION, PRODUCT, OR PROCESSES DISCLOSED HEREIN. Neither the United States Government nor its employees represent that use of such information, product, or processes will not infringe on privately owned rights. In no event shall CMS be liable for direct, indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages arising out of the use of such information, product, or process.
Chapter 6, Section 20.2 Outpatient Defined. This discusses the appropriate billing of "Day Patient".
You, your employees and agents are authorized to use CPT only as contained in the following authorized materials of CMS internally within your organization within the United States for the sole use by yourself, employees and agents. Use is limited to use in Medicare, Medicaid or other programs administered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). You agree to take all necessary steps to insure that your employees and agents abide by the terms of this agreement.
The correct inpatient consultation codes for a first evaluation are 99221-99223. These codes are used for the inpatient History and Physical (H & P), as well as any specialty consultation (limited to one visit from each specialty). In the past, the codes 99221-99223 were used only for the admitting physicians, and the codes 99251-99255 were designated for consulting physicians. The consulting physician codes were dropped from Medicare guidelines due to discrepancies in paid consulting fees and the proper criteria required for those services. The new guidelines require consulting providers also to use 99221-99223.
A request (verbal or written) from the referring physician. The specific opinion or recommendations of the consulting physician. A written report of each service performed or ordered on the advice of the consulting physician. The medical expertise requested is beyond the specialty of the requesting physician.
No matter whether billing for Medicare or a non-Medicare provider, only one inpatient initial code can be billed for each specialty. Additional submissions will be denied. Subsequent hospital visits should be coded using 99231-99233 (not discussed explicitly in this writing).
All services performed in an office and the resulting hospital admission are reflected (i.e., admission following any evaluation and management (E/M) services received by the patient in an office, emergency room, or nursing facility). If these services are on the same date as admission, they are considered part of the initial hospital care.
Second, the old initial consultation codes (99251-99255) are no longer recognized by Medicare Part B, although many non-Medicare providers still use them if ...