tci General Surgery Coding Alert - 2001 Issue 11

Physician Can Admit From Office

Question: When we see a patient in the office who is immediately sent to a hospital for admission, the surgeon will dictate a history and physical (H&P) and wants us to bill for an admit. Is this allowed, or does the admit have to be dictated at the hospital, leaving us with a level-five established patient visit?Oklahoma Subscriber  Answer: The admit can be billed by the surgeon, but the office visit cannot. The correct E/M code is determined by where the patient ends up (in this case, inpatient hospital), not where the report was dictated. Because...

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