Global period billing in OB-GYN is one of the most complex areas in medical billing, and mistakes can cost your practice thousands per patient. The global period covers antepartum care, delivery, and postpartum care—but the devil is in the details of what's included and what can be billed separately.
Common pitfalls include billing separately for routine antepartum visits, missing opportunities to bill for complications outside the global period, and incorrect modifier usage when multiple providers are involved. Documentation requirements are strict, and payers scrutinize these claims heavily.
Success strategy: Master the global period rules for your most common delivery codes, implement robust tracking systems for patient care timelines, and ensure your documentation clearly distinguishes between routine global care and separately billable services. When done correctly, global period billing can be highly profitable—when done wrong, it's a cash flow disaster.