Inpatient discharge coding

[redfish1891]

Hey everyone, for those of you who are inpatient consultants, not the primary physician, how do you charge for the day of discharge?
I have been billing as a follow up however I am helping more with discharge paperwork, DME and coordinating with case management and the patient. This made me wonder if I could charge for a discharge code instead of the follow up.
What are the guidelines for this? Thanks!

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[lejeunesage]

If you're not the primary provider, the most you could bill is a progress note. 99231, 99232, or 99233 (although the last one would be hard to justify on a discharge day. Only one provider can bill 99238 or 99239. If you feel like the amount of work you do on discharge day amounts to 50 minutes or more, you can bill 99233. But that would probably make you an outlier.

 

[redfish1891]

If you're not the primary provider, the most you could bill is a progress note. 99231, 99232, or 99233 (although the last one would be hard to justify on a discharge day. Only one provider can bill 99238 or 99239. If you feel like the amount of work you do on discharge day amounts to 50 minutes or more, you can bill 99233. But that would probably make you an outlier.

That makes sense. Thanks for the info.