Medical Billing Forum

Billing => Billing => : jcbilling March 05, 2011, 08:17:32 PM

: In Patient Hospital Claims
: jcbilling March 05, 2011, 08:17:32 PM

SInce this is a new territory for me, I had a few questions in regards to this type of billing:

When billing in-patient hospital visits on a CMS 1500 for a physician not employed by the hospital, is the referring provider a required field?

Also, I know that the admission date is required. Is the discharge date also required. If so, then it appears that we would need to wait until the patient is discharged before billing any of the claims. Am I thinking through that correctly?

Thanks so much!

: Re: In Patient Hospital Claims
: Michele March 05, 2011, 11:35:26 PM

The referring provider is only required if billing for a service that requires a referral.  If you are billing for inpatient visits by a dr who is treating the patient using E&M codes, referring physician is not required. Also, discharge date is not required.  You do not need to wait for the discharge to bill.

Michele

: Re: In Patient Hospital Claims
: jcbilling March 06, 2011, 02:52:46 AM

Thanks Michele for your help - I really appreciate it!