Subsequent Hospital Care

Tags: cpt inpatient em

Code Range

99231-99233 - Subsequent hospital care per day

Overview

Billed for follow-up hospital visits after initial care.

Code Selection

Code	MDM	Typical Time
99231	Low	25 min
99232	Moderate	40 min
99233	High	55 min

Frequency

Daily Billing

Can be billed once per day per physician/specialty. Multiple visits same day combine.

Documentation Elements

Element	Requirement
Interval History	Changes since last visit
Exam	Relevant systems
MDM	Problems, data, risk
Time	If using time-based selection
Plan	Ongoing treatment

Multiple Visits Same Day

Combine Time

If physician sees patient multiple times same day, combine time for code selection.

Morning visit: 15 minutes Afternoon visit: 20 minutes Total: 35 minutes → 99232

Same Day Discharge

Scenario	Billing
Admit + Discharge same day	Initial or Observation code
Subsequent + Discharge same day	Discharge code only

Don't Double Bill

Cannot bill subsequent care and discharge on same day. Bill discharge only.

Consultation Follow-Up

• After initial consult, bill subsequent hospital care
• Same specialty cannot bill initial again
• Different specialty may bill their own initial

00 Inpatient ProFee Coding MOC Initial Hospital Care Discharge Services