Critical Care Visits Furnished Concurrently by Different

30.6.12.3 - Critical Care Visits Furnished Concurrently by Different Specialties (Rev. 11288; Issued: 03-04-22; Effective: 01-01-22; Implementation: 02-15-22) Concurrent care is when more than one physician renders services that are more extensive than consultative services during a period of time. The reasonable and necessary services of each physician furnishing concurrent care is covered when each plays an active role in the patient’s treatment. In the context of critical care services, a critically ill patient may have more than one medical condition requiring diverse, specialized medical services and requiring more than one practitioner, each having a different specialty, playing an active role in the patient’s treatment. Medicare policy allows critical care visits furnished as concurrent care (or concurrently) to the same patient on the same date by more than one practitioner in more than one specialty (for example, an internist and a surgeon, allergist and a cardiologist, neurosurgeon and NPP), regardless of group affiliation, if the service meets the definition of critical care and is not duplicative of other services. Additionally, these critical care visits need to be medically reasonable and necessary for the diagnosis or treatment of illness or injury or to improve the functioning of a malformed body member.