Concurrent care means two or more doctors, normally of different specialties, work in tandem to manage the same patients care. Each doctor must manage a different aspect of the patients care, and each doctor's services must meet the requirements of medical necessity.
Concurrent care coding: pulmonologist and allergist
The allergy season oftentimes presents the tight spot of when and how both an allergist as well as pulmonologist can go for services for the same patient. Reimbursement for concurrent care to tend to conditions such as extrinsic asthma, acute bronchitis is possible.
Make yourself familiar with Medicare's slant
Medicare reimburses for concurrent care when doctors provide services more extensive than consultations and when both doctors play a key role in the patient's ongoing care.
In order to get paid in a concurrent care scenario, you must be able to justify having two related specialties on board.
Here are two thumb rules to help ensure reimbursement for concurrent care:
1) Diagnosis: Verify that the diagnosis support the medical necessity of involving two specialists in the patient's care
2) Unique services: Clarify the care both physicians provided to avoid any misunderstanding that the pulmonologist or for that matter allergist alone assumed total care for all presenting conditions.
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