decisionhealth Newsletters, Part B News - 2020 Issue 6 (June)
CPT-listed times are OK for telehealth E/M code selection, CMS says
Subscribe or sign in to view the full article.
Article Overview
This article explains CMS interim guidance affecting telehealth evaluation and management coding during the COVID-19 public health emergency. It is relevant to coders, billing staff, and practices that assign office/outpatient E/M levels using time, and it summarizes the agency’s position on which time benchmarks to use when selecting a code level.
Why This Topic Matters
The article addresses a practical coding issue that affected telehealth office/outpatient E/M reporting during the public health emergency. It matters because it clarifies which time references CMS said should be used for time-based level selection, helping practices align documentation and coding workflows.
Article Sections
-
Coding
Discusses CMS interim guidance for telehealth office/outpatient evaluation and management coding during the public health emergency. The section compares the time references used for level selection and notes the broader context of the agency’s telehealth policy updates.
What You Will Learn
- How CMS addressed time-based selection of telehealth evaluation and management levels during the public health emergency
- Why CMS times and CPT manual times were compared in the guidance
- Which type of time reference CMS said was appropriate for choosing an office/outpatient E/M code level
- How the guidance relates to common office visit code categories for new and established patients
Who Should Read This
- Medical coders
- Billing specialists
- Physician practices
- Compliance staff
- Revenue cycle professionals
Codes Discussed
Subscribe or sign in to view the full article.
Quick, Current, Complete - www.findacode.com