(Medicare Claims Processing Manual)

 If the transfer of care occurs immediately after surgery, the physician other than the surgeon who provides the in- hospital postoperative care bills using subsequent hospital care codes for the inpatient hospital care and the surgical code with the - 55 m odifier for the post -discharge care.  The surgeon bills the surgery code with the  -54 modifier.    Physicians who provide follow -up services for minor procedures performed in emergency departments bill the appropriate level of office visit code.  The physician who performs the emergency room service bills for the surgical procedure without a modifier.    If the services of a physician other than the surgeon are required during a postoperative period for an underlying condition or medical complication, the other physician reports the appropriate evaluation and management code.  No modifiers are necessary on the claim.  An example is a cardiologist who manages underlying cardiovascular conditions of a patient.   4. Evaluation and Management Service Resulting in the Initial Decision to Perform Surgery   Evaluation and management services on the day before major surgery or on the day of major surgery that result in the initial decision to perform the surgery are not included in the global surgery payment for the major surgery and, therefore, may be billed and paid separately.   In addition to the CPT evaluation and management code, modifier  -57 (decision for surgery) is used to identify a visit which results in the initial decision to perform surgery.  (Modifier  -QI was used for dates of service prior to January 1, 1994.)   If evaluation and management services occur on the day of surgery, the physician bills using modifier  -57, not  -25.  The  -57 modifier is not used with minor surgeries because the global period for minor surgeries does not include the day prior to the  surgery.  Moreover, where the decision to perform the minor procedure is typically done immediately before the service, it is considered a routine preoperative service and a visit or consultation is not billed in addition to the procedure.  5. Return Trips to the Operating Room During the Postoperative Period   When treatment for complications requires a return trip to the operating room, physicians must bill the CPT code that describes the procedure(s) performed during the return trip.  If no such code exists, use the unspecified procedure code in the correct series, i.e., 47999 or 64999.  The procedure code for the original surgery is not used except when the identical procedure is repeated.   In addition to the CPT code, physicians use CPT modifier  -78 for these return trips (return to the operating room for a related procedure during a postoperative period.)   The physician may also need to indicate that another procedure was performed during the postoperative period of the initial procedure.  When this subsequent procedure is related to the first procedure and requires the use of the operating room, this circum stance may be reported by adding the modifier  -78 to the related procedure.   NOTE: The CPT definition for this modifier does not limit its use to treatment for complications.   6. Staged or Related Procedures   Modifier  -58 was established to facilitate billing of staged or related surgical procedures done during the postoperative period of the first procedure.  This modifier is not used to report the treatment of a problem that requires a return to the operati ng room.   The physician may need to indicate that the performance of a procedure or service during the postoperative period was:   a. Planned prospectively or at the time of the original procedure;  b. More extensive than the original procedure; or  c. For therapy following a diagnostic surgical procedure.   These circumstances may be reported by adding modifier  -58 to the staged procedure.  A new postoperative period begins when the next procedure in the series is billed.  7. Unrelated Procedures or Visits During the Postoperative Period   Modifiers were established to simplify billing for visits and other procedures which are furnished during the postoperative period of a surgical procedure, but which are not included in the payment for the surgical procedure.   Modifier  -79:  Reports an unrelated procedure by the same physician during a postoperative period.  The physician may need to indicate that the performance of a procedure or service during a postoperative period was unrelated to the original procedure.   A new postoperative period begins when the unrelated procedure is billed.   Modifier  -24: Reports an unrelated evaluation and management service by same physician during a postoperative period.  The physician may need to indicate that an evaluation and management service was performed during the postoperative period of an unrelated procedure.  This circumstance is reported by adding the modifier  -24 to the appropriate level of evaluation and management service.   Services submitted with the  -24 modifier must be sufficiently documented to establish that the visit was unrelated to the surgery.  A diagnosis code that clearly indicates that the reason for the encounter was unrelated to the surgery is acceptable docum entation.  A physician who is responsible for postoperative care and has reported and been paid using modifier  -55 also uses modifier  -24 to report any unrelated visits.   For critical care visits that are unrelated to the surgical procedure and performed postoperatively, report modifier FT as discussed in section 30.6.12.7 of this chapter.   8. Significant Evaluation and Management on the Day of a Procedure   Modifier  -25 is used to facilitate billing of evaluation and management services on the day of a procedure for which separate payment may be made.   It is used to report a significant, separately identifiable evaluation and management service by same physician on the day of a procedure.  The physician may need to indicate that on the day a procedure or service that is identified with a CPT code was per formed, the patients condition required a significant, separately identifiable evaluation and management service above and beyond the usual preoperative and postoperative care associated with the procedure or service that was performed.  This circumstance may be reported by adding the modifier  -25 to the appropriate level of evaluation and management service.   Claims containing evaluation and management codes with modifier  -25 are not subject to prepayment review except in the following situations:    Effective January 1, 1995, all evaluation and management services provided on the same day as inpatient dialysis are denied without review with the exception of CPT Codes 99221- 9223, 99251- 99255, and 99238.  These codes may be billed with modifier -25 an d reviewed for possible allowance if the evaluation and management service is unrelated to the treatment of ESRD and was not, and could not, have been provided during the dialysis treatment;   When preoperative critical care codes are being billed within a global surgical period; and   When A/B MACs (B) have conducted a specific medical review process and determined, after reviewing the data, that an individual or group has high statistics in terms of the use of modifier  -25, have done a case- by-case review of the records to verify tha t the use of modifier  -25 was inappropriate, and have educated the individual or group as to the proper use of this modifier.   For critical care visits that are unrelated to the surgical procedure but performed on the same day, report modifier - FT as discussed in section 30.6.12.7 of this chapter for further discussion of critical care visits unrelated to the procedure with a global surgical period.   9. Critical Care   Critical care services provided during a global surgical period must be unrelated to a surgical procedure and appended with the modifier - FT.  For further information see section 30.6.12.7 of this chapter for further discussion of critical care visits unrelated to the procedure with a global surgical period.   10. Unusual Circumstances   Surgeries for which services performed are significantly greater than usually required may be billed with the  -22 modifier added to the CPT code for the procedure.  Surgeries for which services performed are significantly less than usually required may be billed with the - 52 modifier.  The biller must provide:    A concise statement about how the service differs from the usual; and    An operative report with the claim.   Modifier  -22 should only be reported with procedure codes that have a global period of 0, 10, or 90 days.  There is no such restriction on the use of modifier  -52.  B. Date(s) of Service   Physicians, who bill for the entire global surgical package or for only a portion of the care, must enter the date on which the surgical procedure was performed in the From/To date of service field.  This will enable A/B MACs (B) to relate all appropriate billings to the correct surgery.  Physicians who share postoperative management with another physician must submit additional information showing when they assumed and relinquished responsibility for the postoperative care.  If the physician who performe d the surgery relinquishes care at the time of discharge, he or she need only show the date of surgery when billing with modifier  -54.  However, if the surgeon also cares for the patient for some period following discharge, the surgeon must show the date of surgery and the date on which postoperative care was relinquished to another physician.  The physician providing the remaining postope rative care must show the date care was assumed.  This information should be shown in Item 19 on the paper Form CMS -1500.  See the related implementation guide for where to show this information on the ASC X12 837 professional claim transaction format.   C. Care Provided in Different Payment Localities   If portions of the global period are provided in different payment localities, the services should be billed to the A/B MAC (B) servicing each applicable payment locality.  For example, if the surgery is performed in one state and the postoperative care is  provided in another state, the surgery is billed with modifier  -54 to the A/B MAC (B) servicing the payment locality where the surgery was performed and the postoperative care is billed with modifier  -55 to the A/B MAC (B) servicing the payment locali ty where the postoperative care was performed.  This is true whether the services were performed by the same physician/group or different physicians/groups.  D. Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) Payments for Services Which Are Subject to the Global Surgery Rules   HPSA bonus payments may be made for global surgeries when the services are provided in HPSAs.  The following are guidelines for the appropriate billing procedures:    If the entire global package is provided in a HPSA, physicians should bill for the appropriate global surgical code with the applicable HPSA modifier.   If only a portion of the global package is provided in a HPSA, the physician should bill using a HPSA modifier for the portion which is provided in the HPSA.  EXAMPLE   The surgical portion of the global service is provided in a non- HPSA and the postoperative portion is provided in a HPSA.  The surgical portion should be billed with the  -54 modifier and no HPSA modifier.  The postoperative portion should be billed with the  -55 modifier and the appropriate HPSA modifier.  The 10 percent bonus will be paid on the appropriate postoperative portion only.  If a claim is submitted with a global surgical code and a HPSA modifier, the A/B MAC (B) assumes that the entire global service was provided in a HPSA in the absence of evidence otherwise.   NOTE:  The sum of the payments made for the surgical and postoperative services provided in different localities will not equal the global amount in either of the localities because of geographic adjustments made through the Geographic Practice Cost Indices.  40.3 - Claims Review for Global Surgeries  (Rev. 11287; Issued:03- 02-22; Effective:01 -01-22; Implementation: 02 -22-22)  A. Relationship to Correct Coding Initiative (CCI)   The CCI policy and computer edits allow A/B MACs (B) to detect instances of fragmented billing for certain intra -operative services and other services furnished on the same day as the surgery that are considered to be components of the surgical procedure a nd, therefore, included in the global surgical fee.  When both correct coding and global surgery edits apply to the same claim, A/B MACs (B) first apply the correct coding edits, then, apply the global surgery edits to the correctly coded services.  B. Prepayment Edits to Detect Separate Billing of Services Included in the Global Package   In addition to the correct coding edits, A/B MACs (B) must be capable of detecting certain other services included in the payment for a major or minor surgery or for an endoscopy.  On a prepayment basis, A/B MACs (B) identify the services that meet the following conditions:    Preoperative services that are submitted on the same claim or on a subsequent claim as a surgical procedure; or    Same day or postoperative services that are submitted on the same claim or on a subsequent claim as a surgical procedure or endoscopy;   and -   Services that were furnished within the prescribed global period of the surgical procedure;    Services that are billed without modifier  -78,  -79,  -24, 25, or  -57 or are billed with modifier  -24 but without the required documentation; and    Services that are billed with the same provider or group number as the surgical procedure or endoscopy.  Also, edit for any visits billed separately during the postoperative period without modifier  -24 by a physician who billed for the postoperative care  only with modifier  -55.