Supportive Care is the (non-surgical) care rendered in-hospital by the referring family
physician, who is not actively treating the case (e.g. writing orders), to a patient under the
care of another physician at the desire of the patient or family, for purposes of liaison or
reassurance. Supportive Care may be claimed by family physicians only, using either Visit
Code 371 or 372.
Visit for Procedure Only
When the sole reason for a visit is the performance of a procedure listed in the Diagnostic
and Therapeutic Section of the Schedule, visit codes should not be claimed. This service
should be claimed by billing the appropriate procedural code and fee code 54000, unless
otherwise specified.
Transfer of Care Surcharge
Fee code 160 may only be claimed by Psychiatrists who provide office-based care. It
is payable for patients who are discharged from the psychiatrist’s practice to their
family physician with a written treatment plan for the ongoing management of the
patient’s mental health. The written treatment plan fulfills the documentation
requirement for this service. A minimum of six separate follow up visits must occur
before code 160 may be billed
The transfer of care code is intended to assist in the safe transition of appropriate
patients, whose medical needs can be managed within primary care, from the
psychiatrist to the primary care physician. The billing psychiatrist must meet the established visit requirements for this fee code and must provide a transition of care
treatment plan to the family physician or designate that will provide guidance on biopsycho-social
recommendations for the patient.
