| Barbara F. Halenar |
| Medical Economics |
There are 12 new, five deleted, and nine revised E&M codes. A new subsection, Non-Face-to-Face Physician Services, has been added that includes new codes for telephone services and online medical evaluations.
E&M codes
There are 12 new, five deleted, and nine revised E&M codes. A new subsection, Non-Face-to-Face Physician Services, has been added that includes new codes for telephone services and online medical evaluations.
Three new telephone codes (99441-99443) are for physicians to use to report E&M services provided by phone at the request of established patients. But they can’t be used if the doctor sees the patient within 24 hours or the call refers to an E&M visit within the previous seven days. The new online E&M code (99444) is intended to report a physician’s Internet response to an established patient’s online inquiry. These services should be documented in the medical record.
The AMA created these codes in response to changes in patient expectations and advancements in technology. But Medicare won’t be reimbursing these new codes, and neither will most private payers. “It’s important to recognize the difference between code establishment and coverage decisions,” Thorwarth points out.
Another new subheading, Counseling Risk Factor Reduction and Behavior Change Intervention, features four new codes. Two of them report smoking cessation counseling (99406, 99407) and replace the G codes (G0375, G0376) that Medicare used to report this service. The other two (99408, 99409) apply to alcohol and/or drug abuse screening and brief intervention services. But you’ll have to use new G codes (G0396 and G0397) when you submit this service to Medicare.
Three new codes (99366-99368) cover interdisciplinary team conferences for patients or families by physicians and allied health professionals, such as audiologists, physical therapists, and psychologists. The specific conference code depends on time, whether the patient is present, and whether physicians or nonphysicians attend.
Read more here…