I have two scenarios I’m unsure of, although I think that E/M cannot/ should not be charged.

If a patient is under a global for fracture care, and is admitted to the hospital for a medical reason by an internist, can the orthopedic surgeon bill an E/M for a consult? The consult was only to follow up/ check the fracture.

In another case, the patient is readmitted a day after discharge, s/p Total knee replacement for fevers. We admitted the patient to Observation, to rule out infection. Nothing was found, patient did not need any further surgery. Do we charge for this admission?

Thanks,
Cindy