CPT code 96361

What does CPT code 96361 mean on a medical bill?

This add-on stands for each extra hour of plain fluids after the first one. If you see three of them, the hospital is saying the drip ran about four hours in total. That is easy to check against your arrival and discharge times and against the nursing notes, which record when each bag was hung and when it came down. An extra hour is only supposed to be billed once the hour before it was actually used up.

What does CPT code 96361 usually cost?

Each line is another hour, so the cost grows with the number of lines rather than with the amount of fluid in the bag. Like the first hour, this is the hospital's charge; the doctor's visit charge is separate.

What should I watch out for with CPT code 96361?

• More extra-hour lines than the nursing notes support
• Extra hours billed with no first-hour line anywhere on the statement
• Hours of hydration billed that overlap with hours billed for an infusion of medicine through the same IV