Consult -vs- new pt office visit

If a primary care doctor referres a patient to a surgeon how do you know to bill for a consult or just a new pt office vist. Example would be Hernia, abd pain, or abscess.

it's a long and complex answer

so your best information is found by using the Look it Up box to the left and type in Consultation.
The keys are proof of referral by another doc, giving advice and communicating back to referring doc.

consult vs new patient visit

The key is: request for opinion

or

transfer of care

Look at the article "no more consults"

CMS thinks that the physician community hasn't accepted its definition of a transfer of care as not a consult, and is considering eliminating payments for consults. We should know what their decision is in a few days/weeks.