C982 – Palliative care
OHIP Surgical Procedures Code — CONSULTATIONS AND VISITS · Schedule of Benefits
A palliative care assessment is any routine assessment rendered by the most responsible physician for the purpose of providing palliative care to a patient. The 'C' prefix indicates this service is for non-emergency hospital in-patients. According to commentary on page , C982 should be used for palliative care visits to patients in designated palliative care beds. This service does not apply to patients whose unexpected death occurs after a prolonged hospitalization for a diagnosis unrelated to the cause of death.
When to Use
- Use C982 for daily assessments of patients admitted specifically to a designated palliative care bed in a hospital setting.
- Use C982 when the primary goal of the encounter is symptom management and comfort care for a patient in the final year of life, rather than curative or aggressive treatment of the underlying disease.
Common Pitfalls
- Billing C982 for patients who are terminally ill but are not physically located in a designated palliative care bed; these patients should be billed under standard subsequent visit codes like C002.
- Attempting to bill C982 for patients whose death was unexpected or related to a prolonged hospitalization for an unrelated diagnosis, as this fails the palliative care definition criteria.
- Submitting E083 or E084 premiums alongside C982 for patients in Long-Term Care palliative beds, which is explicitly prohibited by the Schedule of Benefits.
Billing Tips
- Ensure your documentation explicitly references the 'designated palliative care bed' status to satisfy audit requirements for this specific code.
- If you are the Most Responsible Physician (MRP) and meet the remuneration criteria, remember to attach E083 (weekdays) or E084 (weekends/holidays) to maximize the value of your C982 claim.
Effective: June 1, 2025
A. Consultations and Visits
CONSULTATIONS AND VISITS
Assessment
Hospital and Institutional Consultations and Assessments
The medical record must include a direct physical encounter with the patient, including a patient history and physical examination, as required for all assessments per page .
The record must establish that an insured service was provided, the service claimed matches the service rendered, and the service was medically necessary, as per page .
Ready to bill this code?
SnapBill makes OHIP billing simple — auto-filled codes, validation, and batch submission.