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 patients qualify for observation care and which should be inpatients, Part B coders need...
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