Critical care compliance: Find solutions to 5 key challenge areas

Why This Topic Matters

Critical care billing is an area where timing, team structure, and documentation can affect compliance and payment. Understanding the article helps readers identify where Medicare policy changes create risk, especially in multi-provider care and global-period situations.

Article Sections

1. Follow-up care: Now reserved for teams

   This section discusses Medicare’s revised approach to team-based critical care reporting and the general handling of combined provider time. It also addresses how practices may coordinate work among physicians.

2. Split/shared services: Mandatory for teams

   This section covers split/shared reporting in critical care when a physician and a qualified health care professional work together. It focuses on documentation expectations and team-based billing considerations.

3. Concurrent care: For multispecialty teams

   This section addresses critical care furnished by practitioners in different specialties on the same day for the same patient. It discusses the broader compliance context for multispecialty teams.

4. Same-day E/M services: Critical care must follow

   This section reviews how critical care relates to other evaluation and management services furnished on the same day. It highlights documentation and timing considerations under Medicare policy.

5. Global period: Providers must define their work

   This section covers critical care reporting during the global period and the need to distinguish unrelated work from procedure-related services. It also notes payer variation and documentation issues.