General
The fees for surgery, unless otherwise specifically indicated, include the surgical procedure itself and
in-hospital post-operative follow-up, including removal of sutures and care of the operative wound by
the surgeon or associate. Unless otherwise specifically indicated, the normal post-operative period
included in the surgical fee is 14 days and the surgery fees include all concomitant services necessary
to perform the listed service (including preparation of the operative site, incision, exploration, review of
the results of diagnostic services rendered during the surgery, closure, and pre and post-operative
discussion with the patient and/or patient’s family).
When unusual circumstances require that additional medical services are provided in the in-hospital
14 days following a surgical procedure over and above the concomitant services necessary to perform
the operative procedure, the additional services performed are not part of the inclusive fee for the
surgical procedure and may be billed separately. A note record is required.
Operation Only
For listings designated “operation only” the in-hospital, 14 day post-operative visits may be claimed in
addition to the surgical procedure, with the exception of the visit(s) made on the day of the procedure.
Multiple Surgical Procedures
i) When two or more similar procedures (including bilateral procedures) are performed under
the same anesthetic, or when two or more procedures are performed in the same general
area, whether through the same incision, an extension of that incision or through separate
incisions, the procedure with the greater listed fee may be claimed in full and the fees for the
additional procedure are reduced to 50 percent, unless otherwise indicated by the Schedule.
However, additional incidental surgery performed en passant (i.e. surgery which would not
have been performed in the absence of the primary procedure, such as an appendectomy
during abdominal surgery, or incidental cystectomy during gynecological surgery) is
considered to be included in the fee for the planned procedure and may not be charged.
ii) When two or more different procedures are performed through separate incisions under the
same anesthetic, and repositioning or redraping of the patient or more than one separately
draped surgical operating field is medically/surgically required (because of the nature of the
procedure and/or the safety of the patient), the procedure with the greater listed fee may be
claimed in full and the fees for the additional such procedures are reduced to 75 percent,
unless otherwise indicated by the Payment Schedule.
iii) Procedures which are listed as “extra” in the Payment Schedule may be claimed at the full
listed fee even when performed with other surgical procedures, unless otherwise indicated in
the Payment Schedule.
iv) When two procedures are performed under the same anesthetic by two surgeons and both
procedures are or should be within the competence of either one of the operators within the
specialty or specialities, the total surgical fee claimed should be no more than that which
would be payable if both procedures had been performed by one surgeon, plus one
assistant’s fee.
v) Except where team fees are specifically listed in the Payment Schedule or where a team fee
reasonably could be expected to apply, when two procedures are performed under the same
anesthetic by two surgeons whose different specialty skills are required to perform both
procedures, each surgeon may claim his/her specific services as if they were performed in
isolation from the other surgeon. These surgeons are not eligible for assistant fees for
assisting each other, however, unless each of the surgical procedures takes place
consecutively instead of concurrently.