tci Part B Insider - 2009 Issue 9

OBSERVATION CODING: Observation Stays Are on the Rise -- 4 Tips Help Code Them

Hint: Roll office visit, observation stay into one code. Physicians are admitting more patients than ever to observation status -- so Medicare analysts will be scrutinizing these claims like never before. Many hospitals have tightened the criteria of what constitutes an inpatient stay -- causing some patients to linger in observation care for longer than the average period-- in some cases up to two weeks, according to a Dec. 11, 2008 notice from the Center for Medicare Advocacy. As hospital policymakers set standards regarding which patientsqualify for observation care and which should be inpatients, Part B coders need to...

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