After-hours work: Billing for before and after midnight
Time spent with the patient before and after midnight must be submitted using two 03.01AA claims, using two different dates of service.
For example: if the encounter begins March 10 at 2300hrs and ends March 11 at 0015hrs, then in addition to the claim for the service, the claim for the after-hours time premium should be entered using the two dates of service:
- After hours time premium Claim #1 March 10 03.01AA TNTP04
- After hours time premium Claim #2 March 11 03.01AA TNTA01
Please do not forget that the total time premiums claimed cannot exceed the total time spent managing patient care for that shift. For example, if the total after-hours time spent in the hospital was 10 hours, subtract the time spent eating dinner and other non-patient-related activities.
The remainder will be the “total time spent managing patient care” and, therefore, the maximum period of time that is eligible for time premiums. Submitting claims for time premiums that total more time than was actually spent managing patient care is considered inappropriate billing.
