Forum - Questions & Answers
Critical Care Time Codes
One of our physicians posed this question. If critical care time is coded, can the physician also bill the discharge code? I believe we know that you cannot bill for the admission, but what about the discharge? We need to understand how to code critical time on a daily basis. Thanks, mfk
Critical Care Information in CPT
CPT® gives a pretty detailed explanation of the critical care codes and how to code this service.
I say yes
if the patient is critically ill, requires over 30 min bedside presence and then dies, the doctor can bill for both. If they do not die (or perhaps get transferred to a tertiary care center), it is unlikely that you would require both services on the same day. Remember being in the ICU does not mean you always bill critical care.