Okay, let me explain what I meant.

Say you have a patient that is allowed one preventive visit per year. So you see the patient for their annual exam, and it comes back denied because the patient saw someone else earlier in the year. Do you accept the denial and bill the patient (or write it off if appropriate)? I wouldn't. I would doublecheck what the chart says and see if it meets criteria for a regular E&M. Just because you billed it the first time as a preventive visit doesn't mean that it was correct.

So if you check your chart, you need to see if what was done meets criteria for a regular E&M vs. a Consultation. Was there a written request (or written documentation of a request) from the surgeon for your doctor's opinion? Or did the patient just call and schedule a visit for a pre-op exam? If there is no documentation of the request for your doctor's opinion by another doctor, then it is not a consultation.

And furthermore, I would put a note in the chart stating what you did and why.

Sharon