tci General Surgery Coding Alert - 2005 Issue 4

You Be the Coder: Can You Discharge a Dead Patient?

Question: Can our surgeon file a claim for pronouncing a patient dead? This sometimes requires a lot of work, but we're not sure of how to be reimbursed.Washington SubscriberAnswer: You may be able to charge for a death pronouncement, depending on your carrier.At least one Part B carrier in Washington, Regence Medicare, said a year ago that it was "inappropriate" for physicians to use a discharge code to bill for filling out a death certificate. But carriers in other areas disagree.For instance, physicians can bill for "reasonable and necessary medical services rendered up to and including...

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