Billing Telehealth Post Op Visits

Question:

I am trying to find a resource that addresses telehealth billing in the post-operative period.  Is it possible to bill a post-op follow-up telehealth video visit that is reimbursable in the post-operative/global period?

Answer:

If you are seeing the patient within the global period of a surgery performed by one of your surgeons, then a visit (in person or via telehealth) would only be billable if the visit was unrelated to the surgery. In other words, if a face-to-face post op visit wouldn’t be billable, then a telehealth post-op visit is not billable. If you are billing a 99024 for reporting purposes, then you do not need a modifier 95 and use place of service 11 or 22 should be used on the claim.

If you do have an unrelated diagnosis (not complication) for a visit within the global period (eg acute appendicitis during the global for a thyroidectomy), then you would bill the telehealth visit with a modifier 24 (along with any modifier to indicate telehealth – this varies by payor).

*This response is based on the best information available as of 4/30/20.