A patient spent 1 hour and 45 minutes at an infusion center but received an infusion for only 30 minutes. How should this be billed?

When billing for infusion services, the time spent directly related to the administration of the infusion is typically the focus. In this case, the patient spent 1 hour and 45 minutes at the infusion center but only received an actual infusion for 30 minutes.

Billing as an IV infusion for 1 hour reflects the common practice of billing based on the duration of the infusion itself rather than the total time spent in the facility. In infusion coding, many reimbursement systems require billing to correspond to specific time intervals for infusions, commonly classified in increments such as 30 minutes, 1 hour, or more.

Since the infusion itself lasted 30 minutes, it would not qualify for billing as a full visit, which implies a comprehensive evaluation and management service beyond just the infusion. The billing of an IV infusion for 30 minutes would also be a less accurate representation since the infusion lasted longer than that.

By billing for an IV infusion for 1 hour, this aligns with the guidelines to bill for the infusion services rendered, promoting accuracy and appropriateness in billing practices. Thus, the patient’s infusion treatment length justifies the billing of 1 hour.