Question

question 4

dr. hedrick, a neurosurgeon, was asked to assist in a surgery to remove cancer from the spinal cord. he acted as a co-surgeon working with an orthopedic surgeon. dr. hedrick followed up with the patient during his rounds at the hospital the next day. from what category or subcategory of evaluation and management services would dr. hedricks follow-up visit be reported?

subsequent hospital care.
outpatient visit, established patient
non-billable
inpatient consultation

Explanation:

Analyze the surgical global period rules

Under CPT and CMS guidelines, major surgical procedures include a global surgical package. This package covers all routine pre-operative, intra-operative, and post-operative care related to the surgery within a designated timeframe (typically 90 days for major surgeries).

Evaluate the co-surgeon's role and follow-up

Dr. Hedrick acted as a co-surgeon during the spinal surgery. When multiple surgeons operate together, the global surgical package rules apply to both. Consequently, routine post-operative hospital visits (rounds) conducted by any of the operating surgeons during the global period are considered part of the surgical package and are not separately billable.

Determine the correct billing category

Because the follow-up visit is included in the global surgical package, it cannot be reported as a separate Evaluation and Management (E/M) service. Therefore, the visit is non-billable.

Answer:

• Subsequent hospital care.
• Outpatient visit, established patient
• Non-billable (Correct answer)
• Inpatient consultation