Is CPT 99222 inpatient or outpatient?

Asked by: Loyce Grimes  |  Last update: July 20, 2025
Score: 4.8/5 (46 votes)

99222: Initial Hospital Inpatient or Observation Care Initial hospital inpatient or observation care, per day, for the evaluation and management of a patient, which requires a medically appropriate history and/or examination and moderate level of medical decision-making.

What is the difference between 99222 and 99223?

99222 Initial hospital inpatient or observation care, per day, moderate medical decision making. 99223 Initial hospital inpatient or observation care, per day, high-level medical decision making.

How to tell if a CPT is inpatient or outpatient?

For the most part, Outpatient uses Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) for procedures, while Inpatient utilizes ICD-10-PCS (AMA, 2022).

Is observation care inpatient or outpatient?

Observation services are hospital outpatient services you get while your doctor decides whether to admit you as an inpatient or discharge you. You can get observation services in the emergency department or another area of the hospital.

Can two providers bill 99222 on the same day?

Physicians submitting claims to Medi-Cal for hospital visits and consultations are reminded that each physician is limited to one initial hospital visit (CPT codes 99221 thru 99223) during the recipient's hospital stay.

ADVICE ON GOING FROM INPATIENT TO OUTPATIENT MEDICAL CODING | MEDICAL CODING WITH BLEU

15 related questions found

Is CPT code 99222 inpatient or outpatient?

99222: Initial hospital inpatient or observation care, per day for the evaluation and management of a patient, which requires a medically appropriate history and/or examination and moderate level of MDM.

Is same day admission inpatient or outpatient?

If you receive medical treatment that involves an overnight hospital stay, you are being treated on an inpatient basis. If you are treated in a hospital but don't need to stay, you are being admitted on an outpatient basis.

What determines inpatient vs outpatient?

An inpatient is a hospital patient who, in most cases, stays in the hospital overnight and meets a set of clinical criteria. Outpatients are people who receive care or hospital services and return home the same day.

Can you bill observation and inpatient on the same day?

An inpatient admission code (99221-99223) can sometimes be billed in addition to an observation services code. If you perform a complete inpatient admission service on a date subsequent to admitting the patient to observation status, you might be able to code the admission using initial inpatient codes 99221-99223.

What is the CPT for outpatient observation?

All other physicians who furnish consultations or additional evaluations or services while the patient is receiving hospital outpatient observation services must bill the appropriate outpatient service codes.” For all payers, the admitting physician uses 99221-99223 for patients in observation level of care.

What procedures are on the inpatient only list?

Examples of Inpatient Only surgeries include:
  • Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG)
  • Gastric bypass surgery for obesity (if you have other medical conditions related to obesity)
  • Heart valve repair or valve replacement.

What codes are used for outpatient billing?

The Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code range for Office or Other Outpatient Services 99202-99215 is a medical code set maintained by the American Medical Association.

Am I an inpatient or outpatient?

Inpatient means that you're treated in hospital and you stay overnight. You're admitted to hospital, and you would have a bed. Most health insurance covers inpatient care. Outpatient means you're not admitted to hospital for the day, and you don't stay overnight.

How do you know if a CPT code is inpatient or outpatient?

Inpatient medical coding is reported using ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS codes, which results in payments based on Medicare Severity-Diagnosis Related Groups (MS-DRGs). Outpatient medical coding requires ICD-10-CM and CPT®/HCPCS Level II codes to report health services and supplies.

What time is 99222 required for 2024?

8 Hour Minimum Requirement: Both Same Day and Overnight

The 2024 CPT update has now stated that an observation stay of less than 8 hours, regardless of whether the stay crossed midnight, should only be reported with the first day observation codes (99221-99223), and the day of discharge codes should not be reported.

What does Medicare pay for 99222?

CPT Code 99222 is a crucial code used for billing Medicare for initial hospital visits. It represents a moderate level of evaluation and management services provided to patients during their hospital stay.

Does observation count as inpatient?

Patients receiving observation care are classified as hospital outpatients and therefore covered under Part B, which requires cost-sharing for each service rendered and which does not cover self-administered drugs.

How many times can you bill 99223 per day?

You can report a code from the 99221-99223 range (Initial hospital care, per day, for the evaluation and management of a patient, which requires these 3 key components …) range only once per day.

Can cpt code 99223 be billed with place of service 22?

30: “Claims with dates of service on or after January 1, 2023, for CPT codes 99221 through 99223 and 99231 through 99233, 99238, or 99239 with place of service 22 (on campus-outpatient hospital) are denying in error.

When should I consider inpatient?

If your mental health symptoms have become severe or are worsening despite outpatient treatment, it may be time to consider inpatient care. This includes persistent feelings of sadness, anxiety or hopelessness that interfere with daily functioning.

How do you identify an outpatient?

Outpatient care, also called ambulatory or day patient care, does not require hospitalization. An outpatient visits a hospital, clinic, or similar facility for diagnosis, treatment, or a procedure, and then is free to leave.

What is the 2 midnight rule?

Under the Two-Midnight Rule, CMS generally considered it inappropriate to receive payment under the inpatient prospective payment system for stays not expected to span at least two midnights.

How do you know if you are inpatient or outpatient?

What's the main difference between inpatient and outpatient care? Generally speaking, inpatient care requires you to stay in a hospital and outpatient care does not.

What is the 3 midnight rule?

A patient has passed two midnights in Inpatient status and medically no longer requires hospital care. If there are no accepting SNFs (within the confines of a reasonable search) resulting in passage of a third Inpatient midnight in the hospital, the Three Midnight Rule has been fulfilled.

How many hours is considered an inpatient stay?

Inpatient services defined

Physicians are recommended to use a 24-hour period as a benchmark when making a determination on an inpatient admission. However, admissions are not deemed covered, or non-covered, solely on the basis of the length of time the patient actually spends in the hospital.