BAR^P10 — Transmit Ambulatory Payment Group(s)

The message that transmits to the billing system the APC (Ambulatory Payment Classification) groups computed for an outpatient stay. Pivot of OPPS Medicare funding in the United States.

Purpose

Medicare introduced OPPS (Outpatient Prospective Payment System) in 2000 with its APC classes: every outpatient consultation, technical procedure or day-hospital visit is classified into an APC category to which a flat tariff is associated. P10 is the HL7 message that transmits these grouping outputs from the HIS to the billing system or directly to the Medicare intermediary.

In France, BAR^P10 is rare because outpatient T2A pricing flows through other channels (FIDES, B2-NOEMIE). However the GP1/GP2 segments remain usable to carry a similar homogeneous group classification.

Segment structure

BAR_P10
  MSH                    Message Header (mandatory)
  EVN                    Event Type (mandatory)
  { PID                  Patient Identification (1..*)
    [ PD1 ]              Additional Demographics
    [ ROL ]              Role
    PV1                  Patient Visit (mandatory)
    [ PV2 ]              Visit Additional
    [ GP1 ]              Grouping/Reimbursement - Visit
    { GP2 }              Grouping/Reimbursement - Procedure Line Item (1..*)
  }

Real-world example

Day-hospital stay for a cardiac stress test (APC 0078) at 160.50 USD:

MSH|^~\&|HIS|HOSP01|BILLING|HOSP01|20260516120000||BAR^P10^BAR_P10|MSG-APC-2026-09|P|2.5.1|||AL|NE
EVN|P10|20260516120000|||MJONES^Jones^Maria^^^ACCTMGR
PID|1||MRN345678^^^HOSP^MR||DOE^JOHN^A^^MR.||19720515|M|||100 MAIN ST^^ANYTOWN^CA^90210^USA||(555)555-1234
PV1|1|O|OUTPATIENT-CARDIO^^^HOSP01|EM|||DRSMITH^Smith^James^A^^DR.|||CAR|||1|||DRSMITH^Smith^James^A^^DR.|ADM|VISIT-202605-998
GP1|0078^Cardiac stress testing|78^Stress test interpretation|N
GP2|0078|0001|1|1|160.50|U

• PV1-2 = O (Outpatient).
• GP1-1 = APC code 0078 Cardiac stress testing.
• GP1-2 = reason (78 — Stress test interpretation).
• GP2-6 = 160.50 (APC tariff in USD).
• GP2-7 = U (Unique/Final).

Acknowledgment (ACK)

MSH|^~\&|BILLING|HOSP01|HIS|HOSP01|20260516120001||ACK^P10^ACK|ACK-APC-2026-09|P|2.5.1
MSA|AA|MSG-APC-2026-09

Common errors

• PV1-2 = I (Inpatient): P10 targets outpatient only. For an inpatient stay use DFT^P03 or P11.
• Obsolete APC code: APC lists are yearly (CMS publishes them each October). Always reference the applicable version.
• GP2 missing: GP1 carries the visit group, GP2 each procedure line. Omitting GP2 = no billing possible.
• Currency not specified: for multi-country implementations, add the currency in MSH-19 or an extended field.
• Single procedure vs bundle: some APCs package several procedures. Report via GP2-7 = U vs S (Separate).

Related messages

See also: DFT^P03 — Detailed Financial Transaction.