Billing and Coding: Home Health - Psychiatric Care

Coverage for home health psychiatric care requires a DSM-5 mental disorder diagnosis that is the reason for the ordering physician's treatment or for which the patient was hospitalized, and that diagnosis must be fully documented in the medical record. Psychiatric nursing is considered skilled nursing and is not separately billable from non-psychiatric nursing; separate visits by two nurses are not covered unless the non-psychiatric service is so highly specialized (e.g., infusion therapy) that a psychiatric nurse could not safely provide it.

"Patient has a DSM-5 mental disorder diagnosis that is the reason for the ordering physician's treatment or for which the patient was hospitalized."

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