CO-152 fires where the length of a time-based service is not supported by the record. Anaesthesia, critical care, prolonged services and therapy units all depend on documented duration rather than on a description of what was done.
What CO-152 means
Time-based codes are defined by thresholds, and a service that crosses one has to show it. The frequent failure is a note that describes intensive work without a start and stop time, or a duration recorded in a system field that never reaches the record the reviewer sees. Where the underlying documentation genuinely captures the time, this is a straightforward appeal; where it does not, no argument recovers it.
Why CO-152 fires
- Start and stop times are absent from the record.
- The documented duration falls below the threshold for the units billed.
- Time was recorded in a system field that was not included in the submitted record.
- Concurrent care overlapped and reduced the time attributable to this service.
Is CO-152 worth appealing?
Often worth appealing
How to resolve or appeal CO-152
- 1
Locate the timed source
The anaesthesia record, nursing flowsheet or therapy log rather than the narrative note.
- 2
Map time to units
Show the arithmetic from documented duration to the units billed.
CO-152 — frequently asked
Do I need start and stop times?
What about concurrent care?
Reason-code meanings are paraphrased from the X12 Claim Adjustment Reason Code list for plain-language reference; they are not reproduced verbatim. This is general information, not legal, coding, or medical advice — always confirm against the payer's remittance and policy.
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