hybrid anesthesia/pain - new vs established patient

[bubaghanush]

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Good morning,

I am in a hybrid anesthesia/pain practice. Let's say a patient had an anesthestic from an anesthesiologist (100% anesthesia) in our practice one year ago. I see them in clinic for the first time. Is this a new or established patient?

Thank you

 

[buddababa]

Good morning,

I am in a hybrid anesthesia/pain practice. Let's say a patient had an anesthestic from an anesthesiologist (100% anesthesia) in our practice one year ago. I see them in clinic for the first time. Is this a new or established patient?

Thank

New patient

 

[SpineandWine]

Good morning,

I am in a hybrid anesthesia/pain practice. Let's say a patient had an anesthestic from an anesthesiologist (100% anesthesia) in our practice one year ago. I see them in clinic for the first time. Is this a new or established patient?

Thank you

New, different specialty
I posted similar question a while back

Just b/c anesthesiologist does a knee surgery in ortho practice doesn’t mean pain guy has to bill as follow up

 

[gdub25]

The answer to your question is "it depends". You would need to have a deeper understanding of how you and the anesthesia guy are credentialed to know how you can bill. Here's a link that outlines it very well.

New vs. Established Patients: Who’s New to You?

Is the patient new or established? Follow these guidelines to make the right choice every time.

www.aapc.com

 

[bubaghanush]

The answer to your question is "it depends". You would need to have a deeper understanding of how you and the anesthesia guy are credentialed to know how you can bill. Here's a link that outlines it very well.

New vs. Established Patients: Who’s New to You?

Is the patient new or established? Follow these guidelines to make the right choice every time.

www.aapc.com

Great link, thank you. I am in a large academic hospital practice. So as I understand I should be able to bill new in my example, but if one of the anesthesiologists is also pain credentialed like me and gives the patient an anesthetic, then I'd have to bill follow up in the pain clinic.

 

[BobBarker]

No absolutely not. What happens with surgical anesthesia has nothing to do with pain clinic.

 

[BobBarker]

They don’t bill an e/m code for an anesthetic.

 

[gdub25]

Agreed and believe that exact issue is addressed in the article, or one of the articles I read but maybe didn't post, can't remember.

 

[bubaghanush]

Thanks for the responses. Our hospital billers are way off.

 

[BobBarker]

Never trust a biller or coder. Make them prove everything they say. They operate in a world of constant hearsay that they treat as fact for the rest of their careers. I have never lost an argument against one.

 

[gdub25]

100% agree. Hold their feet to the fire, be willing to do the work yourself to find the truth before you challenge them, and let them know that you're watching. This will keep them working at a high level. Goal should be to collect 96% or more of allowable charges. Industry standard is 92% I believe, been a while since I checked.