An Overview of the 2025 CPT Telemedicine Guidelines

Why This Topic Matters

Telemedicine remains a rapidly evolving part of patient care, and coding teams need current CPT guidance to support accurate reporting, documentation, and compliance. This update is relevant to clinicians, coders, auditors, and billing staff who work with virtual care services.

Article Sections

1. What Are Telemedicine Services?

   Introduces the general concept of telemedicine within the updated CPT framework. It also distinguishes the service category from other forms of patient communication.

2. Key Components of the 2025 Guidelines

   Summarizes the main structural features of the 2025 telemedicine guidance. This section discusses how encounters are organized and the general reporting framework used for these services.

3. Example

   Presents an illustrative scenario showing how telemedicine and in-person services may relate within the same day. The section is used to demonstrate the broader concepts discussed in the guideline overview.

4. New CPT Codes for Telemedicine

   Introduces the newly listed telemedicine code group and explains its overall organization. It also notes the broad distinctions among the code categories discussed in the article.

5. Code 98016: Virtual Check-In for Established Patients

   Focuses on the standalone telemedicine-related code highlighted in the article. It describes the general purpose of this service category and its place within the updated guidance.

6. Example

   Provides a second illustrative scenario related to the telemedicine guidance. The example reinforces the article’s discussion of reporting concepts and encounter timing.

7. The Future of Telemedicine

   Discusses the broader direction of telemedicine within CPT and modern care delivery. The section also reflects on the significance of the update for ongoing use of virtual services.