When To Use POS 21?

When To Use POS 21 In Your Medical Billing Claims

When medically billing with hospital locations, it is important to use the correct place of service code. Place of service code 21 is used in medical billing for all inpatient hospital care.

When a patient is admitted to the hospital, it is important to use the inpatient hospital POS code 21. Many medical billers get confused when the emergency department comes into play. They question whether or not they should use place of service code 23 for emergency room-hospital, or place of service 21 for inpatient hospital if a patient is admitted from the emergency department. This becomes confusing when a patient is brought into the emergency room, taken into surgery, and then admitted after surgery. It is obvious the location after surgery should be POS code 21, but what about before the patient was admitted?

The answer is simple. Medical billing hospital admission codes include absolutely everything that was done on that particular date of service. This means anything a physician does to a patient in the emergency room is included with everything a physician does once a patient is admitted on that day. So, Place of service code 21 should be used in medical billing for the entire day that a person is admitted.

The only time POS 23 is used is if the patient is not admitted to the hospital. If the physician decides to perform surgery in the emergency department, POS 23 would be used for all services rendered on that day.

In medical billing, place of service codes are very important. They determine how much and if a physician will get paid. Medical billing firms realize the importance of correct POS codes. These medical billing companies are determined to provide the most accurate claims for submission.

View all Articles by: Melissa Clark, CCS-P