To determine the global period for major surgeries, carriers count 1 day immediately before the day of surgery, the day of surgery, and the 90 days immediately following the day of surgery.
EXAMPLE:
Date of surgery - January 5
Preoperative period - January 4
Last day of postoperative period - April 5
To determine the global period for minor procedures, carriers count the day of surgery and the appropriate number of days immediately following the date of surgery.
EXAMPLE:
Procedure with 10 follow-up days:
Date of surgery - January 5
Last day of postoperative period - January 15
Physicians Furnishing Less Than the Full Global Package
There are occasions when more than one physician provides services included in the global surgical package. It may be the case that the physician who performs the surgical procedure does not furnish the follow-up care. Payment for the postoperative, post-discharge care is split between two or more physicians where the physicians agree on the transfer of care.
When more than one physician furnishes services that are included in the global surgical package, the sum of the amount approved for all physicians may not exceed what would have been paid if a single physician provides all services (except where stated policies, e.g., the surgeon performs only the surgery and a physician other than the surgeon provides preoperative and postoperative inpatient care, result in payment that is higher than the global allowed amount).
Where a transfer of care does not occur, the services of another physician may either be paid separately or denied for medical necessity reasons, depending on the circumstances of the case.