Coding and Compliance Audits During COVID-19

Why This Topic Matters

It helps readers understand the compliance risks that can arise when documentation does not align with telehealth-era billing and audit expectations during a period of rapid policy change.

Article Sections

1. ICD-10 specificity and compliance context

   Introduces the role of diagnosis specificity and the broader compliance environment in which COVID-19-era auditing took place.

2. Why audits continued during the public health emergency

   Explains the article’s main compliance concern: that waivers and temporary changes did not eliminate the need for documentation review.

3. Telehealth documentation review areas

   Summarizes the general telehealth record types discussed as common areas of variance in audit findings.

4. Telephone-only E/M services

   Addresses documentation expectations for telephone-based evaluation and management services at a high level.

5. Outpatient E/M services and telehealth platform documentation

   Covers the broader documentation concerns for outpatient encounters performed through telehealth and the distinction between encounter types.

6. Audit readiness, workflow, and compliance support

   Discusses the importance of auditing, workflow adjustments, and documentation support to help practices remain compliant during changing policies.