tci General Surgery Coding Alert - 2003 Issue 10

Reader Question: 90846 Describes Psychiatric Services Only

Question: May I report 90846 if a physician meets with a patient's family to discuss treatment options, care, questions regarding the patient, etc.?North Carolina Subscriber Answer: No, you may not report 90846 (Family psychotherapy [without the patient present]) for such services. This code is specific to psychiatric services (and, therefore, accepted by most payers only when reported by a trained psychologist) and does not properly describe time the surgeon spends discussing the patient's condition personally with the patient or his family. Rather, you may choose from either the new patient (99201-99205) or established patient (99211-99215) E/M codes...

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