Health Law Blog - Healthcare Legal Issues

Posts Tagged ‘Medical Direction’

Medically Directed Anesthesia Conditions For Payment

Wednesday, May 8th, 2013

Conditions For Payment Of Medically Directed Anesthesia

 medically directed anesthesia coverageIn my previous article regarding anesthesia billing practices, I neglected to mention another risk associated with over billing for medically directed anesthesia.  Engaging in the described practices tends to raise issues beyond the “double billing” issue that is directly raised.  This type of issue can also raise further scrutiny of the source bills.  For example, an insurer may decide to perform an extended audit of billings as a result of the billing anomalies that I described in my previous article.  The review might disclose a systematic problem documenting all of the prerequisites that permit the billing for medically directed services.

 In order to bill medically directed anesthesia services, seven primary elements need to be clearly indicated in the medical record:

  1. The physician must perform a pre-anesthetic examination and evaluation;
  2. The physician must prescribe the anesthesia care;
  3. The physician must personally participate in the most demanding aspects of the anesthesia plan, including, if applicable, induction and emergence;
  4. The physician must assure that any procedures in the anesthesia plan, that he or she does not perform, are performed by a qualified individual as defined in the operating instructions;
  5. The physician must monitor the course of anesthesia administration at frequent intervals;
  6. The physician must remain physically present and available for immediate diagnosis and treatment of emergencies; and
  7. The physician must provide indicated post-anesthesia care.

If one or more of these elements is not indicated in the medical record, the claim may be denied altogether, sometimes for both the physician and the CRNA services.  The physician alone is responsible for documenting each of these activities in the chart.  Like everything else, if it is not in the chart, it did not take place.

 

You can see how the originally risky billing practice could trigger a further audit and in turn uncover deficiencies in documenting the conditions for medically directed reimbursement.  If a systematic error is made in documenting the seven elements, there can be significant additional financial exposure to the group.

John H. Fisher

Health Care Counsel
Ruder Ware, L.L.S.C.
500 First Street, Suite 8000
P.O. Box 8050
Wausau, WI 54402-8050

Tel 715.845.4336
Fax 715.845.2718

Ruder Ware is a member of Meritas Law Firms Worldwide

Search
Disclaimer
The Health Care Law Blog is made available by Ruder Ware for educational purposes and to provide a general understanding of some of the legal issues relating to the health care industry. This site does not provide specific legal advice and you should not use the information contained on this site to address your specific situation without consulting with legal counsel that is well versed in health care law and regulation. By using the Health Care Law Blog site you understand that there is no attorney client relationship between you and Ruder Ware or any individual attorney. Postings on this site do not represent the views of our clients. This site links to other information resources on the Internet; these sites are not endorsed or supported by Ruder Ware, and Ruder Ware does not vouch for the accuracy or reliability of any information provided therein. For further information regarding the articles on this blog, contact Ruder Ware through our primary website.