Pulse Oximetry in ED

gagraham@mhsystem.org

Good morning,

I am hoping for some guidance regarding billing of Pulse Oximetry in the ED setting. For patients who present with a pulmonary concern, would a pulse oximetry reading performed after the initial intake reading be considered separately billable?

Thank you in advance!

dwilliamsrsi

It depends - if the physician/practitioner has ordered pulse oximetry readings at intervals and using that information in the care of the patient, and documents that this information was used in the medical decision making, an argument can be made for charging/reporting separately. It gets difficult in the ED sometimes because pulse oximetry has become a routine part of vital signs and the documentation doesn't always support the practitioner's use of the information for specific decision making. If there is an order to titrate the oxygen level based on the patient's oximetry at certain intervals, the physician/practitioner still need to acknowledge that a review of the pulse oximetry information and the change in the O2 levels was performed.