• Industry News
  • Access and Reimbursement
  • Law & Malpractice
  • Coding & Documentation
  • Practice Management
  • Finance
  • Technology
  • Patient Engagement & Communications
  • Billing & Collections
  • Staffing & Salary

Inter-practice Consult

Article

Can a family physician refer a patient to an internist in the same practice for a complex medical case? If so, would the internist bill that service as a consult?

Question: Can a family physician refer a patient to an internist in the same practice for a complex medical case?

If so, would the internist bill that service as a consult?

Answer: You can get consults from other physicians within the same practice in different specialties, yes.

What’s less clear to me is whether you really are asking for a consult - which means a written report and advice that comes back to you, and you continue holding primary responsibility for this patient’s problem. Or perhaps you want the internist to take care of this problem for the patient, which is a transfer of care. These are two different animals.

Transferring care is fine, too, but the IM would bill a new-patient visit E&M, not a consult.

Type “consult” into the Search box on the left side of the Web page for more articles clarifying this point.

Recent Videos
Bhavesh Vadhani
Bhavesh Vadhani
Bhavesh Vadhani
Physicians Practice | © MJH LifeSciences
The importance of vaccination
The fear of inflation and recession
Protecting your practice
Protecting your home, business while on vacation
Protecting your assets during the 100 deadly days
Payment issues on the horizon
Related Content
© 2024 MJH Life Sciences

All rights reserved.