Hello fellow medical billers/coders!
I need some clarification on a specific type of surgery POS situation.
I've researched this so much my eyes have gone cross-eyed, and this specific scenario is not clearly addressed (that I can find at least).
Our physician performed a surgery in the OR on a patient that was admitted (inpatient) a couple of days prior to the procedure, and was discharged a couple days later.
Our physician believes that since this procedure did not happen bedside, the place of service should be 22 (outpatient) because it happened in the OR. However, since the patient was an inpatient during the time, I feel this should be billed as 21 (inpatient).
All the details I'm finding regarding inpatient/outpatient POS suggests that if the patient is admitted, no matter what service is provided, the POS should be 21. But the specifics I'm finding only refer to observation coding, not surgical.
Can anyone shed some light on this?
Any help is much appreciated!