tci General Surgery Coding Alert - 2004 Issue 2

Reader Question: Report Initial Hospital Care for Admits Only

Question: I was recently called into the hospital to take over the care of a patient when her previous doctor had to leave town unexpectedly. I began my care three days into her eight-day hospital stay. How should I code for my first inpatient visit with her? Illinois Subscriber Answer: CPT states that admitting physicians should use the initial hospital care codes "to report the first hospital inpatient encounter with the patient." For initial inpatient encounters by physicians other than the admitting physician, you should use initial inpatient consultation codes (99251-99255) or subsequent hospital care codes (99231-99233), as...

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