Critical Care and the Teaching Physician Rules

Only the time of the teaching physician--not the resident--may be reported as critical care time.  That's the short answer.

 Review the articles in Codapedia related to the requirements for critical care billing and critical care to neonates and pediatric patients.

Only the attending physician time may be reported as critical care time on the claim form.  Do not include the time spent by the resident in the total time submitted. 

The attending physician must:

• Document their own participation in the care of the patient
• Show their active management in the patient's care
• Show that they saw the patient and were involved in the care
• Document the time spent in critical care activities. Teaching is not included.
• Tie their note to the resident's note

The resident can:

• More fully document the patient's condition, supporting that the patient was critically ill
• Document the interventions in more detail than the attending physician note