Date of Service

Question:

We are in an academic setting. Our residents will see a patient, for example, at 11 pm on Tuesday. Then on Wednesday morning our attending physician evaluates the patient, documents his/her findings, documents the required attestation, and enters an E&M code into the EHR. The date of service is the date the encounter was created by the resident on Tuesday. Do you bill the E&M service with the Tuesday date of service or the Wednesday date when the attending physician saw the patient?

Answer:

The correct date of service is the actual date of service when the attending physician saw the patient. In this case, it will be Wednesday even if the attending physician links the note to the resident note from the previous date.