CPT code 96360

What does CPT code 96360 mean on a medical bill?

This is the line for plain fluids run into your vein — the bag of saline, not medicine. It is meant for a drip that ran more than about half an hour, so a bag that was started and stopped right away is not supposed to be billed this way. It covers the first hour; longer runs add a second code for each extra hour. The fluid, the tubing, and the nurse's time are normally bundled into this one line.

What does CPT code 96360 usually cost?

Priced by time, in blocks of an hour, and billed by the hospital rather than by the doctor. The same bag of fluids is priced differently in an emergency room than in an infusion clinic, because the emergency room adds its own room and staffing charge on top.

What should I watch out for with CPT code 96360?

• Hydration billed when the fluids ran for less than about half an hour
• A bag that was really the carrier for a drug billed as plain hydration as well as an infusion of the drug
• More hours of fluids on the bill than hours you spent in the department