Use these time-based codes to report discharge services for nursing facility patients. There is significant variability in payment, depending upon the code billed, so it is important to accurately document the time spent on the date of discharge in order to optimize reimbursement.
For these encounters, the level of care is selected based solely on the total time spent on the date of the encounter.
The rules for performing and documenting discharge services are covered extensively in the NURSING FACILITY DISCHARGE SERVICES course, which includes detailed explanations of the time requirements for each visit.
The 99315 level of care for nursing facility discharge services is used for visits requiring a total of thirty minutes or less of time spent on the date of discharge.
The 99315 level of care pays about $73.15.
The 99316 level of care for nursing facility discharge services is used for visits requiring a total of more than thirty minutes of time spent on the date of discharge.
The 99316 level of care pays about $117.57.