a person or thing that floats. 2. Informal. a person who is continually changing his or her place of abode, employment, etc. 3. an employee without a fixed job assignment: One of our officers works as a floater, filling in when someone is out. 4. U.S. Politics. a voter not attached to any party, especially a person whose vote may be purchased. 5. a person who fraudulently votes, usually for pay, in different places in the same election.
For Medicare patients, inpatient consultations are reported with the initial hospital visit codes (99221â99223). Do not append modifier AI, which is only used by the admitting physician.
If the service is done in the office, use an office consultation code (99241-99245); if it is provided in the hospital, use an initial inpatient consultation code (99251-99255). As far as ICD-9 coding goes, first report the appropriate V-code for preoperative clearance (V72.81-V72.84).