by Wyn Staheli, Director of Content - innoviHealth
Feb22nd,2019
Question
In the situation of a locum tenens/substitute provider, can you help me understand the difference between the Q5 and Q6 modifier and when it would be appropriate to use each one?
Answer
It's important to understand that these modifiers are not interchangeable. These modifiers recently had their descriptions changed to clarify some of the problems previously associated with them. Use Q5 when there is areciprocalbilling arrangement and use Q6 when there is afee-for-time compensationarrangement.Medicare has some specific rules about the time involved so be aware of individual payer policies and their time requirements.
Please read the following article for a more detailed explanation of these two modifiers:
About Wyn Staheli, Director of Content - innoviHealth
WynStaheliis theDirector of Content Research for innovHealth. She has over 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry. With her degree in Management Information Systems (MIS), she has been a programmer for a large insurance carrier as well as a California hospital system. She is also the authorand editor of many medical resource books and the founder of InstaCode Institute.
Q/A: What's the Difference Between Q5 and Q6 for a Substitute Provider?. (2019, February 22). Find-A-Code Articles. Retrieved from https://www.findacode.com/articles/q-a-what-s-the-difference-between-q5-and-q6-for-a-substitute-provider-34784.html
© 2019 InnoviHealth Systems Inc
