Home Forums Discussions General Discussion documenting Vit B12

How do you chart an injection given and an order on a pt that may come in weekly for a shot? Also, does anyone know how much is an average bill? We just set up an office and at a loss to know how much to charge for things.
thanks.

Our nurses use the vaccine screen straight from the chart. It may not techinically be a vaccine but it works perfectly fine, tracks it well and overall is quite efficient. Our B-12 injections run $25.00 this year. Hope this helps!

You're getting $25 for a B12 injection?? cool! I presume these are at the patient's request and they're paying for them? We get reimbursed like $0.35 for a dose of B12, provided they like the diagnosis code that goes with it. I'm still looking for the diagnosis code for "the patient thinks he needs it".

V.

I am finding the need for Vitamin B12 more common with bariatric surgeries being performed. About 25% of patients have low Vit B12 levels due to absorption issues with a shortened gut. I use the diagnosis code for low Vit B12 level (OTHER VITAMIN B12 DEFICIENCY, 266.9).

I agree with you, Vinny. We don't even get enough to cover the syringe and needle. And, to make it worse, Medicare will not pay for a B12 shot given on the same day as a regular office visit. I suspect this harkens back to the days when docs gave B12 shots for everything from lumbago to CHF. We are all still being punished.

Leslie

Are you also charging for the admin fee? At least we can get the pmt for that, plus the god-awful reimbursement for the B12. We are fast getting to the point of having our pts who want B12's for less than medically necessary DX's pay out of pocket. We also will have them purchase the meds thru their pharmacies via RX, and we keep it here for administration (with each pt's name on the vials). We do this with testosterone for the guys and it works great! We're a small practice and can't keep taking the beating on these low allowables, so we get the pts to share. By the way, we have been getting Medicare pmt for B12's on same day as OV, using modifiers and proper ICD-9's. Maybe it's the difference in carriers.

Yes, we charge for the administration fee. We too have had patients purchase the bottle of B12 and leave it here. Tell me what ICD-9 and modifier you are using. I thought we had tried them all.

Leslie

If pt gets B12 w/OV, we just use the "25" modifier on the OV. We get paid for the admin fee (90772), and the med. Of course, the pt has to have a covered condition, mostly ours are getting it for anemias. We have some insurance pts who are getting B12 for "fatigue" & other non-anemic DX's. Depending on the insurance, we're also getting paid on these!