OAR 410-125-0360: Definitions and Billing Requirements

(1) Total days on an inpatient claim must equal the number of accommodation days. Do not count the day of discharge when calculating the number of accommodation days. (2) Inpatient services are reimbursed based on the admission date and discharge diagnosis. (3) Inpatient services are services to patients who typically are admitted to the hospital before midnight and listed on the following day's census, with the following exceptions: (a) A patient admitted and transferred to another acute care hospital on the same day is considered an inpatient; (b) A patient who expires on the day of admission is an inpatient; and (c) Births. (4) Outpatient services: (a) Outpatient services are services to patients who are treated and released the same day; (b) Outpatient services also include services provided prior to midnight and continuing into the next day if the patient was admitted for ambulatory surgery, admitted to a birthing center, a treatment or observation room, or a short term stay bed; (c) Outpatient observation services are services provided by a hospital, including the use of a bed and periodic monitoring by hospital nursing or other staff for the purpose of evaluation of a patient's medical condition. A maximum of 48 hours of outpatient observation shall be reimbursed. An outpatient observation stay that exceeds 48 hours shall be billed as inpatient; and (d) Outpatient observation services do not include the following: (A) Services provided for the convenience of the patient, patient's family or physician but that are not medically necessary; (B) Standard recovery period; and (C) Routine preparation services and recovery for diagnostic services provided in a hospital outpatient department. (5) Outpatient and inpatient services provided on the same day: If a patient receives services in the emergency room or in any outpatient setting and is admitted to an acute care bed in the same hospital on the same day, combine the emergency room and other outpatient charges related to that admission with the inpatient charges. Bill on a single UB-04 for both inpatient and outpatient services provided under these circumstances: (a) If on the day of discharge, the client uses outpatient services at the same hospital, these shall be billed on the UB-04 along with other inpatient charges, regardless of the type of service provided or the diagnosis of the client. Prescription medications provided to a patient being discharged from the hospital may be billed separately as outpatient Take Home Drugs if the patient receives more than a three-day supply; (b) Inpatient and outpatient services provided to a client on the same day by two different hospitals shall be reimbursed separately. Each hospital shall bill for the services provided by that hospital; (c) Inpatient and psychiatric emergency services (PES) as defined in OAR 309-023-0110 provided to the patient on the same day, whether in the same hospital or two different hospitals, shall be reimbursed separately. (6) Outpatient procedures that result in an inpatient admission: If, during the course of an outpatient procedure, an emergency develops requiring an inpatient stay, place a "1" in the Type of Admission field. The principal diagnosis should be the condition or complication that caused the admission. Bill charges for the outpatient and inpatient services together. [ED. NOTE: Forms referenced are available from the agency.]