Evaluation and Management Services / Tobacco, alcohol risk reduction EMs

Article Overview

This premium article reviews behavior change intervention services within evaluation and management reporting, with emphasis on tobacco cessation counseling and alcohol or other substance use screening and brief intervention. It is aimed at physicians, coders, and other billing professionals who need to understand the scope of these services, when they are considered distinct from other E/M reporting, and how Medicare-related handling differs from general reporting. The article covers the general service categories, face-to-face reporting context, interaction with preventive or same-day E/M services, and the Medicare-specific codes referenced for these services.